Creating something new, day 23
3 days later
Lessons, books and Pale Blue dot
My body doesn't appreciate that I have tortured it with riding lessons every day, and although they've had fun about my 'riding helmet' with plenty of padding and chin straps, I have unfortunately needed it. Ended up explaining how serious all head injuries are, even if they don't seem so, and I think I scared them enough so they take it serious and will be careful. At least they have stirrups here, so it's a little easier to keep the balance and mount up and down, and I'm tall in relation to the normal horse's height at the withers.
As if the riding lessons weren't enough, I get the shit knocked out of my arms and legs by the guards every day when they train me in using a sword, axe and shield. I've been so damn sore, but it has been very instructive. Sure, I won't be at their level for a long time, but I should be 'not useless' and 'better than a sheep herder' this winter or so, if I manage to build up my body, grip, etc.
I've got bruises everywhere, but my sambos have been angels. I've tried to teach them really basic massage, which they all seem to appreciated when I give them - especially foot massage - and they want to reciprocate it. Hot water followed by massage by one, or sometimes two angels, isn't wrong. Especially not when it escalate to more than just massage. But I try to make sure we're all careful, as incorrect massage can do damage and I don't have enough knowledge or practise for the really useful massage, although I have a massage book on my tablet. I'm gonna study that book this fall, and making something closer to a real massage bed might be a good idea. I'll probably won't be lacking volunteers, as the guards have shown plenty of interest, but its far better they learn to do it for eachother. I'm their Lord, and everyone agree that I should only massage my sambos. Its just to intimate.
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All sundials and all four sextants are finished, as I've completed at least one of each per day and also two monoculars. However, I can't take all the credit as both Iselin and Ciara have helped me a bit with the metal work. Kari want to help too, but I don't have enough tools as it is, and its quite obvious not her skillset and I believe she just doesn't want to be left out, so I've given her other work that she can do. Considering how important it is, I should finish my wind turbine, but if just importantness was a factor, it would be hard to prioritize which is more important. I need to focus more on writing stuff down as well, and now I float around between work, depending on mood, weather, and time of day.
Two of the sextants have got a variant of a diopter sight that seems to work really well, and every sextant's vernier scale has been expanded to 20 parts, 0.05 degrees. My simple engraving guide for angles works very well, and it was so worth building with a 1146mm long arm between the center and the outer scale. The precision on the finished sextants will be higher, and its so much easier to get it right and save a lot of fiddly time, for 20mm on that outer scale is one angle degree, which is two degree markings on the sextant scale.
In the future, it may be a good idea to make a stable and really good pantograph for scale 5 or something. The pantograph can then scale a 5 times larger template down and get the smaller version accurate. I've also have thoughts about in the future start to etch accurate markings and other things. Cover the metal completely with some durable thin varnish, engrave thin lines in it, and give it an acid bath so the metal is etched. Then wash off the varnish, and fill in the finished groves with something durable such as varnish or lacquer and polish up the surface. Only the color in the etched groves will remain and be durable. Some kind of rotary engraving tool and templates would be nice, but they use runes, so its relatively easy to make.
The threaded M6 and M8 rods were surprisingly good with very little dimensional error over the entire distance, and I now have two nice 35cm threaded rods of each size in brass, and also got square nuts and wing nuts for M4, M6 and M8, and matching combination spanners. Of course, everything is in brass and slightly smaller than real M threads specification due to the metal shrinking, but everything has pretty much the same fault, so there isn't any big problems. But I can use screws and threads as they are, because even if it isn't perfect, its good enough. 'Good enough' pretty much been my motto since I started making stuff here, and probably will be for a while. I've made another big order on more. One hundred of each size screw, nut, wing nut, and ten threaded taps of each as well as ten M6 and M8 threaded rods, and four more sets of combination spanners. It will take a couple of weeks, but hopefully this will make it easier to make better tools and machines during the comming winter. With better tools and machines, I can make better parts for even better machines, and I hope to switch to more durable steel instead of brass.
Evenings have pretty much been spent writing a math book, or rather several, and Kari helps me get that right. The books introduce my numbers, gives a description of the positional number system with examples in rune numbers and continental European system and explains their meaning, why positional and decimal number rocks, why zero is important and not just a placeholder. It shows plus and minus, multiplikation and division, square root, and how to calculate with the numbers. The next book is more geometry and covers various calculations of volumes, areas and include pi to 100 decimal places, as well as ten powers and SI divisions from Atto to Exa. The next book is trigonometry and algebra, with tables for angles to 0.01 degree resolution and value tables, how to simplify expressions and rules for it, negative numbers, etc. It all go step by step, chapter by chapter, book by book. Each book has exercises with answers at the end, and I'm a little proud of this project, even if the learning curve is damn steep. This isn't ment for beginners.
Sure, it's knowledge from others, but a lot of knowledge is, and I like my compilation, although I expect it to be revised several times in the future, to make it clearer and better explained, as I will certainly come up with more areas I forgot to add, or can't remember well enough. So there is plenty of work to do for future mathematicians, especially in producing evidence as I only remember a few as for Pythagoras theorem. Mathematical proofs are terribly important. There are 3 books and Kari helps me rewrite it properly, and elegant. She also learns to use everything better, and even if she isn't good, she seems to practice, and she probably beats everyone else. Kari and Iselin will probably be much better than me at it in the future, not least because I don't really use a lot of it in normal life. Trigonometry? Yes, a lot. But the rest? Nope.
I've written down a lot of thoughts and things to improve, like making a more accurate table for trigonometric functions to thousandths. Most math users will be tied to paper and ink, and the end precision won't be better than the biggest error, or accumulating errors, and significant figures is one of the things the first book shows and explain.
I keep jumping between projects and should compile and write down physics and chemistry, but I've realized I need to make measuring instruments instead, and be able to produce some I can give away, because there is no point in just me having it. So the idea is to manufacture proper weights and measurements, and make measuring instruments for mechanical measurement. Primary whats needed is a meter stock and a protractor, followed by a inside caliper, outside caliper, oddleg caliper, vernier caliper and a micrometer. I have already used my thin measuring tape to make the original template for meters, and a copy that Pedr got, so I 'just' need to start mass-producing them, and foldable meter sticks. Then it's getting everything used.
But I can force those who make things for me to use my measuring devices, which to some extent I've already done, and then slowly spread it further. I have a big advantage in that there are no standards yet, atleast not her in the north. Yes, of course people are used to calling measurements, distances, areas etc certain things, but those measurements might differ from place to place. A fathom, an ell, a foot, a hand and a thumb/inch are different for person to person, and they do have somewhat standardized how much it is, but there isn't any precision in it. So if I introduce a logical system like SI now and spread it through good ready made tools and math, that system doesn't have any real competition, perticulary when it comes to things they don't really measure, like time, speed and so on. Their own length and volume measurements are so different and a complete mess, except for the weight measurements which probably will be the most difficult to replace, and will continue being used for currency until that system is replaced. Imperial measurements can fuck off, with centuries of problems with different measurements in different places and names we still have and cause troubles in modern times.
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Another big problem is making and reading drawings. So I plan to write a 'Measurement and drawing manual', and make notes about what it should contain. Like how to make and read drawings, which is a large area even when I've simplified it. It include how to set out dimensions and specify things, describe angles and parallelism, tolerances, etc. Nothing really advanced and just what is needed. I hope to be able to distribute it to various kingdoms knowledge centers, maybe for free if they arn't interested in buying it, and start mass-producing atleast measuring rods and simpler calipers that I can give to larger guilds and more important craftsmen. I'll also need to visit powerful organizations and influential people with power and convince them. I really should attend those gatherings where scholars discuss and influence eachothers, but I don't know if they exist in this era, or where. My company or Asta doesn't know either. If I make myself known, I will probably find out, otherwise I will have to create them.
Getting to know knowledgable people gives me a greater chance to find out about others who have traveled here from Midgard, and if its possible to return, but it might be 'difficult' to explain what happened to me if I against all odds, manage to return to Midgard. There's both advantages and disadvantages if I have some elf women with me, that I have a relationship with. I wouldn't want to expose them to my worlds curiosity, social pressure and dangers. The advantage is that their 'elvish' parts are very discreet, so many would probably only classify them as nerds with cosmetics, plastic surgery and effectful contact lenses. But at least the government will find out sooner or later, because how the hell will I explain their origin when they need ID? Not exactly an ordinary immigration, and I sure don't trust normal government employees with that secret. My only plan is to go as high as I can through the military, as a state secret, or through Säpo, which is the Swedish Security Service. Knowledge and evidence of another world can probably help, and a DNA test will prove that it is not cosmetics. I don't think I will need that plan, as I will never be able to return to Midgard, but at least I have a plan for that slim eventuality.
What may be a greater risk of even trying to travel back, is that it may not be Midgard I travel to, because there are more described worlds in the Aesir mythology than just Alfheimr and Midgard, even if it is a slight comfort that according to their world description. It should only be possible to travel to Asgard or Midgard from Alfheimr, and Asgard should be more technologically advanced considering its one of the homes of the gods etc, but then, why do the 'gods' no longer visit here if they are high-tech people? Well yes, they believe that the Gods visit them, and that valkyries fetch fallen warriors to Folkvang or Valhalla and so on, but until I see evidence, I will doubt there's 'gods' walking around.
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Iselin eagerly reads the books that Kari brought with her to practice reading runes, and together with Asta she is studying the math books and doing all the tests in them. Several times, and they trying to invent their own tests based on reality.
Iselin's innocent question why the sundial is tilted - and her following question why the angle is so important - escalated. I still havn't really learned to think how things I say will affect her, and its both good and bad that she's smart. She seems to be really smart considering how she has adopted and learned math etc. She understand how to absorb concepts, with evidence so that its true, which makes her ask me difficult followup questions which leads to something else. Iselin gets annoyed, hurt and disappointed when she understands that I know the answer, but don't say anything or is evasive, because I don't know how she will react. She has also come up with a way to convince me, as she kiss me, stares into my eyes and say it's her choice. Her's. She asked and wants to know, regardless of the consequences, and kiss me again. I'm happily wrapped around her fingers, and she knows it.
So Iselin now knows that the Earth is round, and what size it probably is because gravity seems the same. Also what gravity is, and how the solar system is structured. Showed her the world map on the mobile map app. It led to a few pictures of the Earth, from the outside. It led to big city lights from space. To Buzz Aldrin during the Gemini project in space. To Apollo image of the moon. Pictures of Mars. Curiosity robot on Mars. Finally, the 'Pale blue dot' image's modern copy from Cassini. Have that text lying among others in my document folder and I gave her my own version of Carl Sagan's speech as she looked at that picture.
Mind. Blown.
In a couple of hours she went from her comfortable Viking life with its wast world, which is just small Europe, to knowing the solar system and the scale she couldn't really understand. We were lying there in bed and I just hugged her while she was shocked and held me. After a long while, Iselin said that she now begins to understand what I meant all those weeks ago, when I warned her that it would change her worldview. She didn't know what it really meant before. How could she? She now understands why I'm not interested in accumulating power or wealth, but instead try to make the world better with my knowledge. On the whole, our time here is insignificant, but we can try to make the world a better place. For us, for others and for future generations. I teared up when she hugged me, kissed and thanked me, and that she too wants to make this world better along with me. My wonderful smart fiancée.
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The King was quick to receive us when we arrived at the Kings Castle, and we were introduced to his wife Queen Haera and the young Princesses Sefa and Ulfarna. They all seem happy to see us, and atleast the King seems curious about what I've created. So I give the King a sundial and tell him how to install it. What it's for. Practically speaking, it is basically a modern statue as the clock is something they don't really need yet. But I plan to change that. I also give him another sundial that I hope will be install somewhere down in the city where it is public and people can learn what it is and how it is read, and show the simple plate in brass that describes the purpose and how to use it. It also explains that there is a small error in the time display due to the sun's movements as the year goes on, and it is possible to prove this error, but that it doesn't affect if everyone use only the sun as a reference. All sundials will show the same time if they are installed correctly. But I explain that in the future the Academy will make more accurate watches, a type for indoor use all year round, which is not dependent on the sun. Devices that points to numbers on the board, instead of the sun's shadow.
The King seems really interested about it, and thinks it is an interesting and good idea and seems to understand why it is practical to be able to measure the time, and divide the day into reasonably large parts. It makes it so much easier to organizing gatherings or meetings, if everyone uses the same time and name for it, and to be able to easily clarify when something will happen, and events can be at any time of the day with the same clarity.
Its a rather long discussion between us. About time and the Academy. About copper roofs, heating houses and standardization of measuring units and instruments and getting something made, and in the end the King asks me to use his name Asbjörn in future private situations. I thank him for that honor, and of course reciprocate it. He has a North Arrow, so as a last gift, I also give him his own ring sundial. I've already shown how it works for him and his family.
When we leave the Castle, his sundial has been placed in the Castle's courtyard so everyone can use it, and everyone who comes can see, and I think Asbjörn thinks our discussions and talk, is much more interesting than just ruling and hosting feasts. If that's correct, Asbjörn will probably like my Academy and its products.
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My bedroom back at the farm is quite full of things and not unexpectedly it is nowadays not really a bedroom, it is a study and workroom with a bed, much like my bedroom has been for most of my life. Its one problem with living in an apartment - lack of space and no garage or anything. But it's nice to have the bed close by, when one of my sambos think I need to focus on her, be distracted or sleep, like when Ciara come in, kiss me on the cheek, takes off her dress in my peripheral view next to me, hangs it up and crawls down in my bed and then just looks at me there with a seductive look, while I try in vain to finish what I'm doing.
Quickly brush my teeth so she doesn't have to lie there alone. I only take minimal of the toothpaste each time, and I don't look forward to when it is depleted, even though they seem to have acceptable dental hygiene methods here.