Chapter 75: Hydroelectric Power Plant
Kingdom of Aragon – Upper Ebro Valley
Spring, 1795
Prince Lancelot stood on the wooden scaffolding overlooking the churning gorge, the wind pulling at his navy-blue overcoat. Below, the River Ebro thundered through a natural bottleneck, its waters diverted through newly carved channels that fed into the heart of the Aragonian Hydroelectric Complex—the first of its kind in the kingdom, and perhaps in all of Europe.
The sound was immense, like a thousand furnaces exhaling in unison. Mist sprayed upward, casting soft halos around the brass lanterns suspended from the incomplete iron gantries. Men shouted over the din, moving in rhythm as wheelbarrows, winches, and cranes all danced to the script of industry.
"Your Highness," said Chief Engineer Arturo Liano, adjusting his leather gloves, "we’ve completed the third turbine shaft and begun laying the copper conduit lines toward Calvaria."
Prince Lancelot nodded, his eyes fixed on the waterwheel chamber below. Massive iron turbines—each forged in the royal foundries outside Navarre—spun with liquid force. The rotation powered primitive generators, which buzzed faintly behind glass-lined doors.
"These... they convert mechanical energy into electrical current?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.
"Yes, Highness," Arturo replied with a touch of pride. "Using Faraday’s principle. As the shaft rotates, it turns coils within magnetic fields. The current is directed through copper lines to the transformer house. From there—"
"Into the arteries of Aragon," Lancelot finished. "Streetlamps. Foundries. Homes."
Arturo smiled. "Exactly."
Behind them, a group of workers in oil-stained overalls paused to salute the Prince as he passed. He returned the gesture with a nod. Some bore the blue crest of the Crown Engineers; others, simple brown tunics marked with provincial badges. This was a national endeavor, pulling hands and minds from every corner of the realm.
The scaffolding creaked underfoot as they walked toward the viewing tower. Lancelot paused beside a ledger where a clerk was scribbling with a steel nib.