A PERSONAL VIEW OF THE DISASTER

After several weeks of being unable to publish due to the current world wide emergency, the Times is pleased to resume circulation.

While we are all aware of the extend of the devastation wrought throughout the Kingdom and Empire, we thought to bring you an occasional series depicting life and the British spirit as we weather this time of wasting.

Our first exemplar is from a journal found in a rural village in Oxforshire. We believe that the published portrait photograph is of the author.

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. Burnt journal page describing the devastation of a rural village in Oxfordshire. The author is believed to be the daughter of a local squire. She, her mother and sibling are believed to have sheltered from the depredations of the dragons around Oxford in the ruined basement of a local shop. Their fate is unknown. – image courtesy of eighteenseventyeight.com

The darkness is coming again and, though I struggle to hide it, I am sore afraid. They are more active at night and already I feel as if I can hear their wings and feel their hot breath scorching the ground. Mother went out to forage for food. It seems like hours ago and I fear for her; if not from the beasts then from those other survivors who, just a short while ago, were our neighbors. The dragons have not only laid waste to our once idyllic village but also to the souls of many therein.

Where once there was kindness; now there is spite.

Where once there was sharing; now there is mean hording.

Where once there was light; now there is only dark.

I am resigned to my fate, whatever it may be, but I fear most for Robbie. He has but four years and yet he knows the anguish that we all share. Most days he sits quietly, rearranging small bits of rubble in our underground shelter. He used to hum softly to himself but, since the day when one of the young ones heard him, he no longer sings, nor hums, nor cries. Shadows passing the entrance above cause him to freeze in terror and scurry to the smallest recesses at the back of the shelter.

How I secretly envy him the ability to shrink so far back. I fear that one day the rending claws will reach me unawares and I will meet my end.

Photo thought to be of the unknown author of the journal. Found among the rubble of the shelter where the journal was found by searchers. – image courtesy of 19thcentury.tumblr.com

I ponder the reason for all our misery. The vicar, while he lived, told us to trust in God’s mercy. He said, whatever the genesis of this evil, goodness would prevail in the end. That good man was taken from among us as he carried out the duties of his office, visiting and comforting the terrified and injured.

At his passing, the curate took over as the spiritual head of our community. He is a nervous man, filled with proud resentment and ambition. Before the wasting, he was never loath to make it known how he deserved more rapid advancement and a vicarage of his own. Small wonder that the bishop kept him in his current post! What a shame the lesson on humility did not take root within him.

It was the curate who fanned the flames of fear when he said that this despoilment is God’s judgment on the wickedness of man. For, truly, as the Lord said, who among us is without sin? Each villager can enumerate countless transgressions that make him or her the object of God’s wrath.

The curate believes that the Almighty has visited this terror upon us because men of science dared tread upon his province. He said that God threw wide the gates of Hell to release his righteous scourge upon all those who have grievously sinned. But surely this cannot be since the beasts appeared not from the bowels of the Earth as he said but from the curious rings of light in the sky.

The rubble of Little Holding in Oxfordshire. Dragons have left no structure untouched and the residents are all either fled or deceased. Site of the journal found in a destroyed cellar. image courtesy of celebrateboston.com

Yet for all his supposed piety, he huddles in his shelter among the crypts of squires and lords long gone and demands that those seeking succor and the Sacrament come to him. He claims that it is so that they might be protected by hallowed ground but his demands drip with hypocritical irony. How I long for our dear old vicar who loved and shepherded us so well.

When I asked Father about what the curate said, he replied that God is all loving and that he would never visit such a horror upon both the wicked and the righteous. He reminded me of the story from Exodus when God warned the Israelites to mark their door posts in order that the Angel of Death should not visit His wrath upon them.

However, Father is more a man of science than faith. Not that he lacks faith but he believes that God provide man with a brain and curiosity so that he might learn more about his world and thus come closer to understanding it. Before the wasting, he followed the stories of Babbage, Lovelace, Brunel, and others most avidly. He wrote and received replies from that august crowd. I am proud to say that some of his suggestions were well received by those learned men and woman.

Now he has gone, as befits his duties as squire, to hunt out the beasts and aid the soldiers in destroying them. I keep him close to my heart and try, like Mother, to show myself in the best light as his daughter.

Mother has returned at last! She has found some roots and wild greens for us as well as a bit of potted meat. We shall need to eat them cold for the beasts have learned to associate the smell of cooking with food for themselves, that being us.

I sent my pen aside now so that I may attend to my chores. I pray God that I live another night and day to resume this narrative.

WORLD WIDE DESTUCTION

Editorial review from The Times – Reports of destruction and devastation are flooding in from around Europe. Creatures, long thought to be the fabrications of superstitious minds have suddenly appeared with dire results. This Paper wishes to know – why?

Artist’s rendition of one of the gargouilles incarné — image courtesy of charcoal-almighty.deviantart.com

In France, the imperial government has mobilized the Garde Nationale in an effort to protect its citizens from creatures it describes as “gargouilles incarné”. Reports from refugees confirm attacks by huge creatures with wings that resemble the famous statuary adorning the roof of Notre Dame de Paris. The beasts are said to be attacking livestock and gorging themselves on the carcasses. Rumors of similar attacks on humans are rife but, as yet, unconfirmed.

Reports of troll like creatures wreaking havoc throughout the mining areas of the German and central European states continue to filter in. It appears that several of the deeper shafts have been flooded and scores of miners who sought shelter there drowned when the beasts destroyed the sump pumps used to remove the excess ground water. The seemingly  inexplicable rampage appears to have some goal to it. Side galleries, long since abandoned are being excavated by the trolls. They seem to be searching for something and, with each fruitless effort, their savagery toward the surrounding communities increases. Gruesome tales of child abduction and slaughter abound.

Russian artistic rendition of a bukavac attacking a fisherman at night — image courtesy of phantos.deviantart.com

Further east in the Russian Empire, there are reports of ancient beasts from Slavic mythology reappearing. Fishermen on the Black Sea have been attacked by bukavacs, giant, gnarly horned creatures that crush their human prey to death. Apparently, the bukavac prefers to attack in the dead of night. Entire fishing villages have been reportedly devastated as the creatures make their way up through the Dnieper River basin. One unofficial report comes from Zaporizhia, some 300 kilometers from where the Dnieper empties into the Black Sea.

Communications with the Empire at large have been spotty. A British sailor, recovered on a raft off the coast of Iberia reported that his ship had been seized, without warning, by a giant sea creature he described as a ‘kraken’.  Mail packets, merchant men, and even Her Majesty’s warships are all rumored to be overdue. Tales of unspeakable terrors are rife along the south coast, spread by those mariners who have returned. The Prime Minister has vowed a thorough investigation into the claims.

On that front, the Prime Minister had come under increasing attack from the newer ‘Conservative’ members of Parliament as well as from the Church of England. It is believed that the Whig support for a more Nonconformist and commercial approach to questions of science and technology may be at the root of the current difficulties.  While, as yet unconfirmed, there are rumors that Charles Babbage and his team of ‘energy experimenters’ may have played some part in the appearance of these creatures and the unusual celestial events we have been witnessing. A veil of secrecy has been drawn over their activities. This has led to demands by social and religious conservatives that the entire affair be laid bare and that the nation dedicate itself to eradicating this scourge.

Imperial French Garde Nationale troops mobilized to meet the crisis — image courtesy of shutterstock.com

As yet, no foreign governments have laid accusations of  responsibility for this terror at the doorstep of Her Britannic Majesty’s government. In what appears to be an effort to forestall such embarrassment occurring, the Prime Minister has called upon representatives of the Imperial French and Russian governments, the Austro Hungarian monarchy, and the German principalities to join with us in a unified effort to address the current world wide crisis. If successful, this grand coalition may herald a new era of peace and cooperation, providing that is, that we survive the depredations of these horrible, and as yet, unstoppable beasts who have invaded our world.

TROUBLE, DEATH, & DELAY

A strong force of Tlingit warriors approached the fort via the river in carved canoes

Fort Selkirk, Yukon Territory, 21 August 1852 – Aboriginal peoples of the Tlingit tribe attacked and looted this Hudson’s Bay trading post. The post is located in an area which is in dispute as to ownership. Speculation is circulating that the attack was prompted and indeed, supported by the Russian government in Sitka. Heretofore, the trading post has had the most amicable relations with the area’s indigenous peoples. Rumors among trappers have circulated of a ‘ghost shaman’ who has been reported to be fomenting unrest among the locals. Such guises are known to have been used by Okhrana agents in other disputed areas coveted by the Russian Empire.

Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington in a daguerreotype taken shortly before his demise. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, 18 November 1852 – Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington, the military hero who orchestrated bringing New Georgia back into the British Empire and former Prime Minister was laid to rest today in a heraldic state funeral, as befits his stature as soldier and statesman. The Duke, well known for his hatred of railway travel, was ironically transported to his final resting place via a special train. Isambard Kingdom Brunel was overheard to remark to Ada, Countess Lovelace, that he did not think the Iron Duke would mind being conveyed by an Iron Horse this one time. The ensuing response from Her Grace was judiciously ignored by most around her. The construction of a memorial square to the Duke is proposed in the area of The King’s Mews near Charing Cross. The square would host a gigantic Doric column surmounted by a statue of the heroic Duke who wiped the stain of revolution off the Imperial map.

Dartmoor prison, rumored to be taken over by the Military for some nefarious research connected by Babbage and his brain trust. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Cambridge, 3 December, 1852 – In a statement to the press, the Brain Trust of Babbage, Brunel, Countess Lovelace, and Faraday today announced that they are very near finishing their calculations and plan to proceed to the experimentation stage in the late spring of 1853. Details are thin, to say the least, as a veil of government security has fallen over the project. Speculation, fueled by labor ministers of Parliament suggest that the War Minister has taken a keen interest in the project. If so, one can only wonder at the potential of an energy source that might also have military applications. Unconfirmed rumors hint at massive influxes of funds and the recruitment of numerous other scientists from around the Empire and beyond. Royal agents are reported to have smuggled out chemists and other specialists from the Germanys and even the crippled Austro-Hungarian  Empire. Despite all information coming from Cambridge, an increased amount of secretive activity seems to be centered near the recently abandoned Dartmoor Prison in West Devon.

TITANS UNITE FOR BRITAIN

Mathematical prodigy, Ada, Countess Lovelace 0 image courtesy of Wikipedia

Cambridge, 23 June 1848 – Engineering genius Isambard Kingdom Brunel, mathematical prodigy Ada, Countess Lovelace, chemist Michael Faraday, and inventor of the analytical engine Charles Babbage announced today that they have been collaborating on a project to “revolutionize” power generation. Their project is based on the analytical engine’s  computational power to exploit the remarkable scientific discovery made by German kemist Martin Heinrich Klaproth. In 1789, Klaproth isolated a new element that he named after the Greek god of the sky, Uranus. His so called ‘Uranium’ appears to be the fuel for this supposed miracle power source, although how a metal can be of use in such a process remains to be seen.

His Imperial Majesty Louis Napoleon, ruler of the Franco-Spanish Empire. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

The Levant 14 July 1848 – Forces of His Imperial Majesty Louis Napoleon launched a seaborne invasion of the Turkish Levant. The landings were made at the ancient port city of Aleppo. French assault troops, from the feared Foreign Legion, stormed ashore and overwhelmed the weak Turkish garrison at dawn. The Emperor, in a public speech before the Imperial Parliament, announced that the actions were “limited in scope” and taken to protect Maronite Christians from recent excesses by Turkish officials. The Caliphate in Bagdad has protested in the strongest terms but, being engaged in a low level conflict with the Russians on the Bulgarian coast of the Black Sea, experts speculate that there will not be a wider war into which Britain may be drawn. Such adventurism has characterized the reign of Louis Napoleon as he seeks to carve out a name for himself as illustrious as his namesake’s.

Painting of meeting between Commodore Perry RN, another RN officer and Japanese official in the Japans. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Hong Kong, South China Coast 8 August 1848 – Sailing from the Crown Trading Colony a flotilla of six ships lead by Commodore Matthew Calbraith Perry RN sailed into Edo Harbour in the Japans. The ships, after making a brief demonstration of British Naval power, were able to land a diplomatic mission to negotiate with the Tokugawa Shogun. This development is heralded as a significant milestone in securing British interests in the Far East. Such a move becomes particularly important as the Russian Empire continues its efforts to strengthen their hold on their Siberian territories and those in Russian America. Russian infiltration southward from Alieska has encroached on the northern frontiers of the French colonies in California. Fort Rosiia has been reinforced strengthened again. A newly completed windmill is providing flour and other milled grains for the settlers further north along the Salish Sea and into Alieska. This development further solidifies the Russians hold on the Northwestern coast of the Americas. His Britannic Majesty’s government continues to protest these aggrandizements given prior British claims established through the explorations of Captain George Vancouver in the latter part of the last century.

ANALYTICAL ENGINE STUNS EXPERTS

Cambridge, November 11, 1824 – Members of Parliament, the Cabinet and eminent mathematicians from throughout the realm gathered in a purpose built room at the esteemed university to attend a demonstration of Mr. Charles Babbage’s latest engine. The demonstration was held to prove the speed and accuracy of the device. The mathematicians from around the Empire were given a complex equation to solve some six months ago. Each mathematician worked on the problem, unbeknownst to his fellows and was required to record the actual time spent working on the problem. The average time recorded to solve the equation was some 76.8 hours. Mr. Babbage then fed the equation into his Analytical Engine via a stack of brass sheets, punched very much like those used in the Jacquard Loom system. Once the final card was fed into the machine, it required only 1.75 hours to solve the equation. This remarkable machine is being heralded as a tremendous achievement of British scientific knowhow. When asked about his next marvelous development, Mr. Babbage replied that he and his team of artisans and craftsmen are working on a ‘miniaturized’ version of the engine using techniques pioneered by Jaquet –Droz. His expectation is that his engines will be able to occupy a space the size of a linen press rather than the massive lecture sized room that it now requires. One would be tempted to dismiss Mr. Babbage’s aspirations were it not for his remarkable penchant for doing the seemingly impossible.

Schematic drawing of the Babbage Analytical Engine built at Cambridge. – image courtesy gregoryreher.com

King Ludd leading his riotous followers against progress. – image courtesy Wikipedia.com

West Yorkshire January 6, 1825 – In a revival of the Luddite troubles of the last decade, workers in West Yorkshire and Lancashire have taken to the streets in massed protests against the government’s support for the Babbage Analytical Engine. A spokesman for the mob, calling himself King Ludd, decried the financial aid being given to move the project forward. Stating that the Analytical Engine will further displace workers and lead to further social upheaval, this King Ludd called for social reform and a suspension of government support for the engine until it’s full ramifications can be determined. Authorities in the two shires have called for Army troops to maintain order as well as putting forward emergency ordinances to impose a curfew and a ban on mass gatherings outside of normal church services.

Manchester, Lancashire – Army troops today put down rioters who broke into several manufacturing facilities in the city. Damages are being assessed. The Lord Mayor’s office reports the arrest of over 200 persons suspected of ‘machine breaking’ which remains a capital crime under the Frame Breaking and Malicious Damage Acts of 1813.

Troops called in to suppress the Luddite rioters. Martial law imposed across the North. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Louis Bonaparte, Imperial reagent for the 14 year old Napoleon II, King of Rome

Chelmsford on Delaware, North America July 4, 1825 – In a ceremony, rich with irony, the Crown’s Viceroy for North America welcomed the Dominion of New Georgia into the Imperial fold. Chelmsford on Delaware was previously known as Philadelphia and was the first Capitol of the rebellious former colonies. It was there that the rebel leaders signed their Declaration of Independence on this day in 1776. The Viceroy, no doubt with the current troubles at home well in mind, called for letting the past assume it’s rightful place in history and urged all citizens of the Crown to look forward to a brighter common future. The recent expansion of French Imperial garrisons along the common border of the Mississippi River and especially in the city of New Orleans no doubt weighed heavily on the minds of those attending the reintegration ceremonies. Settlements along the western border of the Dominion as well as those facing French Florida are in a state of heightened anxiety over the influx of Imperial French Troops sent to the New World by the regent Louis Bonaparte, brother of the late Emperor Napoleon I.

MR. BABBAGES REMARKABLE ENGINE

Noted inventor, Charles Babbage. – image courtesy Wikipedia.com

London March, 23, 1816– Breaking with the Analytical Society founded by Edward Broomhead and Professor Robert Woodhouse, Mssrs. Charles Babbage, George Peacock, and Sir John Herschel have formed their own association of British Mechanical Mathematicians.  This new organization, headed by the firebrands Babbage and Peacock posits the development of a calculation engine capable of performing complex mathematical processes automatically. When pressed for details on the design of such a fantastical machine, neither man could offer any information, stating that the creation is in its earliest ‘theoretical’ stages. This has prompted wags among the mathematical, engineering, and academic circles to refer to the two young men as Cabbage[head] and Peabrain.

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, inventor of the Leibniz calculating wheel. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Cambridge July 14, 1818 – In a stunning demonstration put on today, Charles Babbage debuted his so called ‘difference engine’. The remarkable machine automates the calculation of mathematical processes with an accuracy that is flawless. Babbage cites the earlier work done by Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz as inspiration. As the scientific reader will know, the Leibniz Wheel calculator greatly remediated the errors to be found in calculation tables. Even the new, meticulously compiled French charts cannot seem to compete with Babbage’s mechanical ‘computer’.

Babbage has promised an even greater machine which he refers to as his analytical engine. The construction of the new engine’s components will be done by the descendants of the late Swiss master watchmaker Pierre Jaquet-Droz. The Droz family, living in London since before the turn of the century, is well known because of their mechanical marvels and intricate watches.

Drawing of Babbage’s remarkable difference engine. His analytical engine is reported to be many times more complex. – image courtesy commons.wikimedia.com

London February 3, 1819 – News has leaked from government sources that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the full knowledge and support of the Crown, has been funding the construction of Babbage’s new engine. Sources tell the Times that the government considers the development of this device to be in the best interests of the Empire. A source close to the Prime Minister states that, “The realization of this invention could very well lead us into new directions in scientific and  manufacturing prominence. It would ensure that, no matter what the other crowned heads might do, Britain will be the World’s leader, as it was meant to be.” The spokesman refused comment on any military applications for the new engine. He did admit that such a device would permit more complete oceanographic knowledge which, while primarily benefiting trade, “could possibly extend to His Majesty’s Royal Navy as well.”

Mssr. Dominique François Jean Arago, head of the Académie des Sciences – image courtesy of Wikipedia.c om

Paris February 13, 1819 – The Imperial government of Napoleon I has issued a statement dismissing the possibility of Babbage’s analytical engine ever being built. Mssr. Dominique François Jean Arago, head of the Académie des Sciences issued the statement. He and the Emperor, a member of the Académie himself, admit that, while mathematical tables may be mechanized, the development of machine logic necessary to reach beyond simple automation of tables is “improbable at best”.

AFTERMATH

AFTERMATH

Napoleon’s Grande Armée at Bolougne. The knife at England’s throat following the defeat at Trafalgar. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

The tidal wave of despair engulfed England almost three weeks to the day after the defeat off Cape Trafalgar. Shock and disbelief haunted the visages of men, women and children throughout the United Kingdom.  Nelson and Collingwood were dead. The cream fleet was all but destroyed. The demoralized remnants had been scattered by the storm which struck after the battle. England was terrifyingly aware of the Grande Armée, poised ready to strike, a mere twenty miles across from Dover. With the fleet shattered, for many, Admiral Jervis’ assertion in 1801, “I do not say … that the French will not come – I only say they will not come by sea” had lost its ring of assurance.

In addition to massive barges with bastions and artillery, the invasion was also planned to involve a cross channel tunnel and airborne assaults from balloons. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

The Prime Minister, William Pitt the Younger, took to his bed with an extreme attack of ‘gastritis’ shortly after hearing the news. He died some six weeks later, leaving the government and the Kingdom in a precarious state of panic. Even after his death the newspapers condemned Pitt for following the policies outlined by Henry Dundas.  It was abundantly evident that Pitt’s support for Dundas’ scheme of fighting the war against Napoleon had gone horribly wrong. He had put all of England’s eggs in the basket of using sea power to blockage or interdict French vessels and inflict a series of damaging  depredations on his colonial holdings and those of his Spanish allies. Now the basket was in tatters and the eggs all broken.

A new government coalesced around William Grenville, 1^st Lord Grenville. Grenville had opposed Dundas’ theories. Instead he advocated confronting ‘The Upstart’ with ground troops and on the Continent. While such actions now looked unlikely, the prevailing opinion was that Grenville was the man to lead the Kingdom now that the possibility of a French invasion assumed a frighteningly real aspect. However, in the years since his resignation in 1801, Grenville had gravitated toward and formed a closeness with the notorious Whig leader, Charles James Fox.

Fox had initial reservations about Napoleon’s taking the Imperial crown however, these evaporated when the two men met. In fact, Fox introduced his wife to l.Empereur, something he had not done to London society. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

Along with Edmund Burke, Fox had been an early admirer of American Revolutionaries. He even went so far as to dress himself in clothing that matched the coloring of Washington’s Continental Army. However, unlike Burke who opposed the French Revolution, Fox saw it as another step along the path to the universal rights of man. for a while Fox had considered the ascension of Napoleon to the Imperial throne a tragedy but he eventually became convinced of the Emperor’s desire to establish a lasting peace.

Thus it was that, when Grenville formed his ‘Ministry of All Talents’ in the waning weeks of 1805, Fox found himself tapped to serve as Foreign Secretary. Grenville’s government made urgent entreaties to Napoleon through intermediaries. These were received with cautious favor and, by the middle of 1806, a peace had been negotiated. In trade for recognizing his Continental System and granting free right of passage to French and French-allied shipping, Napoleon agreed to recognize British overseas colonies, including those recently seized from the Dutch in South Africa and the Spanish in the Rio de la Plata.

In trade for this recognition, the British government agreed to cease all attempts to expand their colonial holdings through attacks on French and Spanish overseas interests.

British troops at the capture of Montevideo. This along with the seizure of Buenos Aires led to consolidation of gains in the Rio de la Plata. The treaty permitted the establishment of the British colony but aborted the overall campaign goals of also seizing Chile and Peru. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

This was a significant oversight on the part of France’s foreign minister, Talleyrand. The specific wording still permitted the British to expand their influence in the South America by acting as protector to the curiously named Free Portuguese Empire in Rio de Janeiro. The Portuguese Prince Regent Joaquin VI, Queen Maria Francisca, the bulk of the Royal Family, most of the government, and some 10,000 other people had fled the Iberian Peninsula for the New World.

Notably not among the merchants, lawyers, judges, and administrators who fled to South America was the Prince Regent’s wife D^a Carlota Joaquina.  It seems that D^a  Carlota had worn out her welcome after leading an attempted coup against Joaquin. Thanks to some diplomatic jiggery pokery, she found herself living a miserable exile in England where she could do nothing to damage the newly established peace. A fiction arose around her wherein it was generally known that she ‘did not make the crossing’. This failure to arrive in New Portugal combined with the fact that she was not in Old Portugal led to the widely circulated rumor that she had failed to survive the journey. After a suitable period of mourning, Joaquin VI remarried and established his dynasty on the shores of the former colony of Brazil.

Britain entered a period of chaos and social unrest. Jacobin revolutionary sentiments simmered disturbingly just beneath the calm if somewhat anxious surface of British society. These combined with the rise of anti-mechanization Luddites and the imposition of severe taxes to cover the cost of rebuilding the fleet saw numerous riots and demi-uprisings. The first stirrings of this unrest saw Grenville’s government withdraw. It was replaced by the figurehead government of William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3^rd Duke of Portland. Portland himself was a man of some experience, having served as Home Secretary in 1794. But the true power behind the man was comprised of Castlereagh, Canning, Hawkesbury, and Spencer, two of whom would become Prime Ministers in their own right.

Charles Babbage in later life. He would not live to see the cataclysm his work brought about. – image courtesy of Wikipedia.com

The moneyed and landed classes embraced the new government with zeal because it ‘took a firm hand’ against the civil unrest. It also filled them with a resolve to recover Britain’s greatness and eradicate the shame that the defeat of the fleet and subsequent treaty had brought to them. Among those who dedicated themselves to the building of a new, better Britain was the young son of a banker. His father, a former financial magnate, left the commercial world behind, retiring with his fortune and his family to Devonshire where he assumed the modest role of church warden. That young man of privilege was none other than Charles Babbage. And he was to have a key role in changing not only Britain but the world.