This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2006 by Eric Flint with Virginia DeMarce. Stories copyright by individual authors. A Baen Books Original Baen Publishing Enterprises P.O. Box 1403 Riverdale, NY 10471 www.baen.com ISBN 10: 1-4165-2060-0 ISBN 13: 978-1-4165-2060-7 Cover art by Tom Kidd First printing, May 2006 Distributed by Simon & Schuster 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Flint, Eric. 1634 : the Ram rebellion / Eric Flint with Virginia DeMarce. p. cm. "A Baen Books original." ISBN 1-4165-2060-0 1. Thirty Years' War, 1618-1648—Fiction. 2. Germany—History—1618- 1648—Fiction. 3. Americans—Germany—Fiction. 4. West Virginia— Fiction. I. DeMarce, Virginia Easley, 1940- II. Title. PS3556.L548A61842006 813'.54—dc22 2006005327 Printed in the United States of America
Ring of Fire series:
1632 by Eric Flint1633 by Eric Flint & David WeberRing of Fire ed. by Eric Flint1634: The Galileo Affair by Eric Flint & Andrew DennisGrantville Gazette, ed. by Eric FlintGrantville Gazette II, ed. by Eric Flint1634: The Ram Rebellion by Eric Flint with Virginia DeMarce et al.1635: Cannon Law by Eric Flint & Andrew Dennis (forthcoming)Grantville Gazette III ed. by Eric Flint (forthcoming)
Joe's World series:
The Philosophical StranglerForward the Mage (with Richard Roach)Mother of DemonsThe Shadow of the Lion (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer)This Rough Magic (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer)The Wizard of Karres (with Mercedes Lackey & Dave Freer)Rats, Bats & Vats (with Dave Freer)The Rats, the Bats and the Ugly (with Dave Freer, forthcoming)Pyramid Scheme (with Dave Freer)Crown of Slaves (with David Weber)Boundary (with Ryk E. Spoor)
The Belisarius series, with David Drake:
An Oblique ApproachIn the Heart of DarknessDestiny's ShieldFortune's StrokeThe Tide of VictoryThe Dance of Time
The General series, with David Drake:
The Tyrant
German Nobleman and Officials
Bayreuth, Christian: Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, ally of Gustavus Adolphus Bimbach, Fuchs von: Freiherr, estates both near Bayreuth (headquarters and Schloss there) and near Gerolzhofen; leader of the opposition to the NUS administration in Franconia and to the Ram Rebellion Dantz, Adrian von: Pomeranian captain in Swedish army stationed in Grantville Faber: Bamberg city councilman Seifert: Head of Bamberg city council Felder, Bruno Commander of the Swedish garrison in Suhl Hesse-Kassel, Wilhelm V: Duke of Hesse-Kassel, ally of Gustavus Adolphus Krausold, Johann Friedrich: Saxe-Weimar treasury official sent to Würzburg with the auditors; informant for Wilhelm Wettin Lenz, Polykarp: Adviser to Freiherr Fuchs von Bimbach Wettin, Wilhelm: Formerly Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar; leader of the opposition party
Members of the Ram movement
Ableidinger, Constantin: School teacher in Frankenwinheim, organizer of the Ram Rebellion Blumroder, Ruben: Gun manufacturer in Suhl Jost, Gerhardt: Jaeger; associate of Constantin Ableidinger in the Ram movement Kronacher, Else: Printer's widow in Bamberg; the "ewe" of the Ram Rebellion Kronacher, Martha: Daughter of Else Kronacher Neideckerin, Judith: Mistress of Freiherr Fuchs von Bimbach Neideckerin, "die Alte": Boardinghouse keeper in Bamberg; widow, mother of Judith Neideckerin Vulpius, Kaethe: Wife of Rudolph Vulpius Vulpius, Rudolph: Mayor of Frankenwinheim
Officials of the New United States
Bellamy, Arnold: Deputy, then Secretary of the NUS Department of International Affairs after Ed Piazza becomes President of the NUS Carstairs, Liz (Thornton): Chief of Staff for Mike Stearns 1632; later for Ed Piazza; president of Grantville LDS Relief Society and secretary of the League of Women Voters Hatfield, Anse: Warrant officer in TacRail; NUS military representative to Suhl Junker, Egidius "Eddie": Law student at the University of Jena; later assistant to Noelle Murphy Murphy, Noelle: Grantville tax official; special envoy and general troubleshooter for Mike Stearns and Ed Piazza in Franconia Stearns, Rebecca "Becky": Wife of Mike Stearns; national security advisor 1631; senator in the NUS (New United States) 1632; daughter of Balthasar Abrabanel Stearns, Michael "Mike": Head of RoF Emergency Committee; later President of NUS; later prime minister of USE Piazza, Ed: Secretary of the NUS Department of International Affairs; succeeds Mike Stearns as President of the NUS in autumn 1633 Rau, Jochen: Corporal, NUS TacRail unit, assigned to Suhl with Anse Hatfield Riddle, Veleda: Founder and President of Grantville League of Women Voters; mother of NUS Chief Justice Charles (Chuck) Riddle Swisher, Jamie Lee: Staff member, NUS Department of International Affairs Sybolt, Red: UMWA organizer, working in Bohemia as one of Mike Stearns' unofficial troubleshooters
NUS officials in Franconia, headquartered in Würzburg
Salatto, Steve: Chief civilian administrator in Franconia, headquartered in Würzburg; married to Anita Masaniello Blackwell, Scott: Chief military administrator in Franconia, headquartered in Würzburg Haun, John Frederic "Johnnie F.": Head of NUS "Hearts and Minds" team in Franconia, headquartered in Würzburg Masaniello, Anita: NUS official in Würzburg, married to Steve Salatto Meyfarth, Johann Matthaeus: Lutheran pastor, poet, diplomat; chief of staff for Steve Salatto in Franconia; founder of a new Lutheran congregation in Bamberg Petrini, David: NUS economic liaison in Franconia, headquartered in Würzburg Weckherlin, Georg Rodolf: Poet and diplomat, originally from Wuerttemberg; previously stationed in England; succeeds Johann Matthaus Meyfarth as chief of staff for Steve Salatto in Franconia, stationed at Würzburg Wendell, Saunders: Deputy to Steve Salatto in Franconia, stationed in Würzburg
NUS staff in Bamberg
Hawker, Stewart: Head of NUS "Hearts and Minds" team in Bamberg Jackson, Wade: UMWA official in NUS administration in Bamberg Kacere, Jane "Janie": NUS real estate specialist in Bamberg Kacere, John Christopher: NUS economic liaison in Bamberg, married to Janie Kacere Marcantonio, Vincent: NUS head civilian administrator in Bamberg Miller, Walter "Walt": NUS military in Bamberg, dealing with Forchheim fortress, assigned to the Special Commission on Religious Freedom in Franconia Priest, Cliff: Captain, NUS head military administrator in Bamberg Trelli. Matthew "Matt": NUS military in Bamberg, dealing with Kronach fortress, assigned to the Special Commission on Religious Freedom in Franconia
NUS staff in Fulda
Beattie, Orville: Head of NUS "Hearts and Minds" team in Fulda Jenkins, Wesley: NUS head civilian administrator in Fulda Utt. Derek: NUS military administrator in Fulda
Auditors assigned to Franconia
Fodor, Willa: NUS auditor in Franconia, mother of Lynelle Calagna McIntire, Estelle: NUS auditor in Franconia Utt, Maydene: NUS auditor in Franconia
Special Commission on Freedom of Religion
Calagna, Lynelle (Fodor): Wife of Paul Calagna; daughter of Cyril and Willa Fodor Calagna, Paul: Member of the Special Commission Early, Mark: NUS military in Fulda, assigned to the Special Commission Ellis, Reece: Member of the Special Commission Longhi, Philip: Member of the Special Commission
Members of LDS (Mormon) Church active in Franconia
Carstairs, Howard: LDS member in Grantville; husband of Liz (Thornton) Carstairs Thornton, Willard: LDS missionary in Franconia Thornton, Emma (Davidson): High school English teacher in Grantville, wife of Willard Thornton Faerber, Lydia: Wife, later widow of Councilman Faerber in Bamberg; convert to LDS church
"Ewegenia": Depending on time and place, can be either the head of Veleda Riddle turned into a sheep as the symbol of the Franconian League of Women Voters or the name assigned to Else Kronacher as the "ewe" of the Ram Rebellion
This is something of an oddball volume, so it's perhaps fitting that it has an oddball history. Many of the stories contained herein first saw life as stories intended to be published in the electronic magazine devoted to the 1632 series, the Grantville Gazette. (Of which, seven volumes are now published, and the first two in a paper edition as well.)
As I watched these stories being written, however—originally with no overarching framework—it occurred to me that, willy-nilly, the writers were in fact shaping the way in which the revolution begun by the Ring of Fire was starting to have an impact on central Germany.
Once I realized that, this volume was born. I had long intended to write a companion volume to 1632, 1633 and 1634: The Baltic War, that would depict the same events covered in those novels but with a focus that you might call closer to ground level. (1632 and 1633 are already in print. David Weber and I are now close to finishing 1634: The Baltic War.)
It's in the nature of fictional narrative that an author tends, whether he agrees with the Great Man theory of history or not—and I happen to despise it—to write stories that focus on "great heroes." It's simply hard to avoid that, given the dramatic imperatives of story-telling.
But such stories give a skewed view of the way human events unfold. People in their great numbers are creators of their own history, not simply the passive material from which history is shaped. The purpose of this book, more than any other, is to depict that in the form of fiction.
It's an oddball volume, as I said, something of cross between a traditional anthology and a novel. There are many different stories in these pages, written by many different authors. At the same time, all the stories share not only a common setting but a common story arch and a common plot thread—as obscure as that may seem to the reader in the first two parts of the book.
Virginia DeMarce and I provided that, partly in stories we wrote separately, but especially in the short novel we co-authored that concludes the volume and shares the same title: The Ram Rebellion. All the separate threads that are first introduced in Parts I and II begin to come together in Part III, and reach their final culmination in Part IV.
So what to call it? I don't know, to be honest. Let's just settle for "a 1632 book," and I hope you enjoy it.
The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, "Mortal, can these bones live?" I answered, "O Lord GOD, you know."
Ezekiel 37:1-3
After Melissa Mailey ushered Mike Stearns into her living room and took a seat on an armchair facing him, she lifted her eyebrows. The expression on her face was one that Mike still remembered from years earlier, when he'd been a high school student and Melissa had been the most notorious teacher in the high school.
Which she still was, for that matter.
For the adult population of Grantville, Melissa's notoriety stemmed from her radical political opinions. For her students, however, that notoriety had an entirely different basis. Whatever flamboyantly egalitarian views Ms. Mailey entertained regarding society as a whole, there was not a shred of evidence for them in her classrooms.
The students who thought she was basically okay—Mike himself had been one of them—called her either The Schoolmarm from Hell or Melissa the Hun. Behind her back, of course. The terms used by other students went downhill from there. Very rapidly downhill, in many cases.
Granted, all of her students would admit that she was fair. But fair is not actually a virtue admired in a schoolteacher, by her students, especially when it was almost impossible to slide anything by her.
Merciful, yes; easy-going, yes; absentminded, best of all.
Fair, no.
As one of Mike's schoolmates had grumbled to him at the time, "Who cares if she's `fair'?" The boy pointed an accusing finger at the book open before him on the cafeteria table. "So she's making all of us read this crap, equally and with no favoritism. Gee, ain't that great?"
Mike grimaced. The volume in question was Dante's Inferno, a book he had soon come to detest himself. Ms. Mailey's notions of "suitable reading" for teenagers bore no relationship at all to what teenagers thought themselves.
" `Fair,'" his friend continued remorselessly, the accusing finger still rigid. "Sure she is. Just like Satan himself, in this miserable book."
The expression on Melissa's face today was the same one Mike remembered from years before. The aloof, questioning eyebrow-lift with which she greeted a student who approached her with a problem after class. A facial gesture which, somehow, managed to combine three different propositions:
One. You wish?
Two. Yes, I will be glad to help you.
Three. You will almost certainly wish I hadn't.
"You've got the oddest look on your face, Mike," Melissa said, bringing him back to the moment. "What's up?"
He smiled, a bit sheepishly. "Just remembering . . . Ah, never mind. I need your advice."
"Yes?"
That was point one. Fearlessly, Mike plowed on.
"It's fine and dandy for me to give a fancy public speech about launching the American revolution ahead of schedule, now that our town is stranded in seventeenth-century Europe. I even got elected head of the emergency committee, because of it, thanks to you. But now, ah ...
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