Grantville Gazette-Volume XVII by Eric Flint & Paula Goodlett

Author:Eric Flint & Paula Goodlett [Flint, Eric & Goodlett, Paula]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baen Books
Published: 2011-04-10T22:00:00+00:00

Magdeburg, June 1635

Some people called this summer "The Golden Summer." Flush with victory, there was a feeling that anything was possible. Jabe McDougal wondered, as he sat chatting with his guests in the sitting room, if this is what his grandparents felt during the days of Camelot and the presidency of John F. Kennedy. Prosperity was all around and war felt farther away than it had in a very long time.

It wasn't as far away for some, though, especially in the McDougal-Gentileschi household. The war and chaos in Italy was always there, in the back of their minds, with the as yet unknown fate of Artemisia's brother Giulio, the last living member of Artemisia's family aside from her daughters. On afternoons such as this, though, in the company of friends and family after a large and successful block party and comfortably settled into their new home in the Artist's Block of Magdeburg, it was possible to put worries aside for a while.

A question from Martin Riddle—Father Martin Riddle, now—brought Jabe's mind out of its reverie.

"Have you had any reaction to your proposal yet, Jabe?"

"Same as always. That the government has more pressing concerns."

Jabe's cousin Brandy, sitting next to the Russian prince Vladimir Petrovich, looked interested.

"What proposal is this?"

"Ideas for a comprehensive policy for radio and television. It's the sort of thing the government needs to think about now and get settled. Otherwise it'll cause a huge fight down the road, I just know it."

Prince Vlad nodded knowingly. He knew what it was like to battle an entrenched bureaucracy.

"So what exactly are you proposing?" Martin asked.

"Standard stuff, really, rules for frequency allocation, licensing, protection of freedom of expression on the airwaves. The biggest thing is going to be deciding who owns the airwaves. I won't bore you with the details, but I've been working with a few of Father Smithson's people, some CoC folks and some others Count Ludwig Guenther suggested to iron out what I think is a reasonable compromise. Janice Ambler keeps telling me I should just turn us into a formal think tank."

"Maybe you should," Martin said. "If you have anything on paper, I'd love to read it." Jabe nodded. In addition to Martin's duties as a priest of the Celtic Christian Church (the first one ordained in centuries as far as Martin's bishop, Aidan of Oban, knew) he was a lawyer. With the offices of the law firm of Fricke, Fricke and Riddle located in the Artist's Block, Martin and his partners were interested in any developments in the area of intellectual property rights and had been lobbying for a USE copyright law for months now.

Jabe looked up as the door opened. Prudentia, his wife of two weeks, entered. She looked windblown and radiant. She was also very pregnant, about 6 months along. Jabe's mother had warned him that she would be getting more tired and uncomfortable as the summer wore on but for now she was enjoying herself.

Prudentia gave him a peck on the cheek. "Not overdoing it, I hope," he asked her.

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