The semaphore line was a marvel, but it had severe flaws: it was slow, required human operators at every tower, and was completely useless in fog, heavy rain, or darkness. The high cost of the Hero's military steel—and the massive profits generated—demanded a communication system with zero environmental latency and instantaneous speed.
"Hemlock, the latest market report on salt prices took three hours to relay from the coast," Alex sighed, pointing to a ledger. "A three-hour delay is an unacceptable risk exposure. We need a system that can transmit complex data over 200 miles in less than a minute."
Alex's thoughts turned to his old world's greatest information weapon: the Telegraph.
The prerequisites were daunting: a reliable source of continuous energy, conductive metal, and a coding system that transcended language.
The first challenge was the energy source. The medieval world relied on muscle, fire, and water—all great for kinetic power, but useless for sustained electrical current.
Alex recalled the simplest, most reliable chemical battery: the Voltaic Pile.
He summoned Garth. "Garth, I need perfectly flat, identical disks of two different metals: zinc (or the closest available base metal) and copper (or silver, if copper is scarce). They must be separated by pieces of cloth soaked in brine (saltwater)."
Garth, used to making plows and pike heads, looked utterly confused. "You want me to make coin stacks, My Lord? Why?"
"To generate a constant, controllable flow of energy," Alex explained. "We are creating force that can travel through metal without smoke or heat. We are harnessing the chemical imbalance between these elements."
After weeks of tedious, precise work, Garth's apprentices built the first successful battery: a towering stack of alternating metal and saltwater-soaked felt disks, producing a steady, measurable current. It wasn't powerful enough to light a city, but it was perfect for sending a tiny, reliable pulse over a long distance.
***
The second problem was the wire. The high-carbon steel Alex produced was too heavy and not sufficiently conductive. He needed pure copper.
The nearest reliable source of copper ore was located deep in the mountains, under the protection of a hostile, isolationist Duke who refused to trade.
Alex dispatched Lady Lyra of the West Marches (his keenest investor, now a critical partner) with a proposal that bypassed military force entirely.
* The Proposal: Lady Lyra offered the copper Duke not gold, but equity—a small, guaranteed profit share in the Arren Industrial Syndicate's new communication line. Alex provided a prospectus showing the Duke that, by supplying the copper, he would gain access to real-time military and market data via the telegraph, giving him a massive strategic advantage over his neighbors.
The Duke, who understood military advantage more than currency, agreed. He was now a silent partner in the system designed to make him obsolete. Within weeks, thin, drawn copper wire was being transported under AGC guard to the Arren Fief.
***
The construction of the telegraph line proceeded quickly. They strung the copper wire along the wooden posts built for the semaphore line, simply adding a second, return wire for the circuit.
The final piece was the language. Alex taught his brightest apprentice, Marcus, the system of long and short pulses—the Morse Code, simplified. He tied the pulses to the existing Arren Codebook, meaning a complex financial report could now be transmitted instantly.
When the final wire was strung between the manor and the rail terminus in Silverstream, Alex personally oversaw the first test.
Marcus tapped a simple sequence: DOT-DASH, DOT-DOT-DOT, DOT-DASH-DOT-DOT (A, R, R, E, N, in a simplified code).
Less than ten seconds later, the simple stylus on the receiving end in Silverstream clicked out the exact same message, translated and flashed back by the apprentice there.
Alex looked at the clicker, a simple stylus tapping against parchment. The three-hour latency was gone. Information was now instant.
"Hemlock," Alex said, his voice quiet with triumph. "We have eliminated distance. We control the speed of information, and therefore, we control the speed of the market."
***
The immediate, casual benefit was that Alex now knew the market prices before the local traders.
The very next day, a large coastal merchant arrived at New Arren, hoping to sell his stock of imported spices at a massive markup, believing the Viscount wouldn't know the low market price back at the harbor.
The merchant walked in, demanded a high price, and before he could finish his sentence, Alex pointed to a fresh piece of parchment on his desk.
"Your offer is 40% above the current wholesale cost in Port Valerian, based on the telegraph update received two minutes ago," Alex stated flatly. "I will purchase your entire stock at a 10% discount on the Port Valerian price, securing you a guaranteed, quick profit without the risk of transport. Accept or decline."
The stunned merchant immediately accepted.
Alex had not just fixed the economy; he had made arbitrage instantaneous. The Arren Industrial Syndicate now possessed the ultimate, unchallengeable economic weapon: perfect, immediate information.
Next priority: The telegraph is wonderful, but it relies on wires and fixed locations. To control his growing rail network and the distant war front, Alex needs mobile communication. He needs to invent the concept of the portable field radio.