Day of Rebellion (7 page)

“So where does Josiah Backhouse fit in?”

“An interesting story. Backhouse was in the CPS, close to Babbage, some say he was his right-hand man. I believe he was actually at the Trinity Conference. But then something happened. He was a Christian – nothing wrong with that of course – but he was fanatical.” The captain tapped his temple with a finger. “Not all there, they say. Anyway, when he heard about this Taiping Rebellion, here in China, and that they were fellow Christians fighting a civil war against the corrupt Imperial dynasty, he decided he would make it his mission to help them. Didn’t know he was here in Shanghai, mind you.”

“They accepted him, then?” Jack interrupted. “The Taiping rebels, I mean?”

“There are a few supporters of the Taiping in Europe and England… missionaries, Christians. And Backhouse had something to offer the Taiping.”

“What was that?” Angus said.

“He was close to Babbage, so he knew all about these incredible CPS inventions and how they were starting to make
use of them as machines… and weapons. He started passing some of the secrets of these discoveries to the Taiping. At first the CPS and the British government had no idea. No one at home took much notice of the Taiping Rebellion, a civil war in China, on the other side of the world didn’t really affect us. Of course, you’re traders, so you know that mostly the British are interested in the trade – and all that’s done through the ports – Hong Kong, Shanghai and the like where there are the European concessions. Meanwhile there was a civil war raging in the south of China between the Taiping and the Imperialist Qing. Then we started to hear strange things about
British-designed
arms turning up in China. At first we thought it was gun-running. War attracts all sorts of low-life – people who are happy to make a bit of money out of other people’s misery. Then we heard new stories. That these Taiping rebels were starting to build whole
factories
in the south of China where they ruled. Soon we discovered that the Taiping were starting to build their
own
versions of CPS inventions. No one understood how they could have got hold of the designs. Then one day a trader said that he had seen an English missionary in Canton who seemed to be friendly with some of the Taiping leaders. Investigations were made – and what do you know? The missionary, it turned out, was our friend Backhouse. Next thing, he had disappeared into the Chinese interior and joined up with the Taiping for good. Now he’s one of their leading chaps… you saw how those warriors obeyed him.”

“He sounds bonkers. What does he want with us?” Angus said.

The captain shrugged. “I can make a guess – he wants to use us as bargaining chips…”

“How do you mean?” asked Jack. “Who would he be bargaining with?”

“With the British, of course. We’re the most powerful country in the world and trade with China is important. To be honest, we don’t really care who’s in charge in China – whether it is the Imperialists or the Taiping rebels – as long as we can trade and make money. I reckon if the Taiping have three British hostages – including an army captain – it’s one way that Backhouse and the Taiping can put pressure on the British to support them against the Imperialists. In fact, the British and French are virtually at war with the Imperialists already. Those seventeen thousand troops are marching on Beijing because they say the Imperialists have broken their last treaty, which was to open up more Chinese ports for trade.”

Jack’s brow furrowed as he tried to take it all in. “So, you’ve got a civil war going on in China between the Taiping in the south and the Imperialist Qing in the north. The British and French have got trading concessions in ports up and down the coast and they’ve sent an army to force the Imperialists in Beijing to open up trade even more. And now, here in Shanghai, the British are also trying to help
defend
an Imperial city from the Taiping who are trying to take it over?”

“That’s about it,” Fleming said. “The Taiping want Shanghai because it is a major sea port. It’s just unfortunate that there are lots of Europeans there already.”

“What a mess,” Angus shook his head.

“Yes – and it doesn’t help our cause with turncoats like Backhouse around – whether he’s a Christian or not.”

Suddenly, the door to the tent opened and Backhouse appeared, flanked by two burly Taiping guards.

“I think it is time, gentlemen – are you suitably refreshed?” But Backhouse did not wait for an answer. “Good, good. Now, you will be excited to hear that we have an audience with General Li Xiucheng himself. He is a fine man and he has a few
questions
. Excuse the indignity, but I am afraid you will have to be searched. We have to be careful – hidden weapons that sort of thing – usual procedure.”

Suddenly the Taiping guards stepped forward and Jack felt his clothes being ripped off him.

“Hey – get off!”

Backhouse shouted in Mandarin and the guards eased off.

“I can do it myself, OK?”

But Jack’s shirt and his undervest had been ripped in the clumsy assault, and as he pulled off the vest, something clattered to the floor. Jack stared down in horror. It was his VIGIL smart device.

Backhouse spotted it on the wooden floor and immediately bent down to pick it up.

Jack made a grab for it and shouted, “No! It’s mine!”

The guards were too quick. They secured Jack in a vicelike grip. Angus started to move, but before he could take a step he too was immobilised.

Backhouse cradled the smooth plastic and metal device in his hand, inspecting it from every angle, and his expression
slowly changed from one of bemusement to one of wonder.

“Extraordinary…” he whispered. He stared at the device and then back at Jack who was still held back by the guards, “Utterly extraordinary… just as I remember it… the ‘Seeing Engine’… the Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’.”

Backhouse’s dark, piggy eyes trained on Jack. “My young friend… where on God’s earth did you get this?”

Jack was struggling to find any words. “I…”

“Leave him alone!” Angus shouted out suddenly. But he was quickly silenced by a loud slap across the face.

“Silence!” Backhouse bellowed, his face now purple. But, embarrassed by this sudden outburst, quickly he tried to collect himself.

“Now, if I remember, you press this, and…” Backhouse’s face lit up, “yes, it comes alive! Just like the Engine… it is the same… a miracle!” He looked up at the ceiling. “Thank you, Lord.” He stared at Jack and said menacingly, “You will explain to us how you come to be in possession of the Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ and how you come to be in Shanghai. We will go to General Li Xiucheng now and show him our discovery.”

The three of them were escorted to a cluster of tents at the centre of the encampment. The biggest marquee was guarded by two armour-clad Taiping riflemen in fur caps. Two golden lion flags flapped in a gentle breeze next to the entrance and ribbons fluttered from the eaves of the marquee. Stepping inside was like being transported to a different world. The walls and ceiling of the marquee were made of yellow silk and there was an
elaborately woven carpet on the floor. Jack’s eye was drawn to a desk and chairs, intricately carved in red lacquer. Two clerks sat at separate desks and two more guards stood, blank-faced, at the back of the room. A Chinese man, in his thirties and wearing a bright red silk jacket, appeared from behind a curtain. This was General Li Xiucheng – commander of the great Taiping army. He gestured for Backhouse, Jack, Angus and Fleming to sit in chairs in front of his desk. A girl entered the tent and poured tea into the cups that stood on the desk in front of them. She bowed, moved aside and hovered, waiting for further orders.

Backhouse was bursting with excitement as he clutched the device.

“If I may, General?”

Xiucheng nodded and Backhouse approached the desk and tentatively laid the VIGIL device on the table in front of him. Amongst the splendour of the silk tent and the elaborate lacquer furniture, the device looked strangely out of place.

General Xiucheng raised his eyebrows at Backhouse, “What is this, Holy Teacher?”

“General, this is an extraordinary discovery. We have been blessed. It is a gift from God.”

There was scarcely any change in the expression on Xiucheng’s face.

“Explain, Holy Teacher,” he commanded.

“This object was with these English hostages we picked up as we entered Shanghai. Only one of these devices has ever been seen before. It was invented by Charles Babbage in England. Babbage – the President of the Cambridge Philosophical Society,
the leader of the Science Lords and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics. This device is so powerful that only three people ever knew of its existence… I was one of those people. Babbage guarded its secrets very, very carefully. But now we have the device, or a copy of it, delivered right into our hands. It is incredible.”

“What does it… do?” Xiucheng said, calmly, staring at the strange gadget lying on the desk in front of him.

“No, it’s not what it does, General, but what it shows. Let me demonstrate.”

Backhouse switched on the device, opened one of the applications and started to scroll through a series of images. As he did so, Xiucheng’s neutral expression changed to one of utter astonishment.

“Babbage never explained how he came to invent such a thing or how he created the pictures and designs that it shows. All we know is that it describes in detail some wondrous inventions and machines… machines that can be built. This, General, is the ultimate source of British power. The CPS inventions that drive British industry and military might come from this little box – the Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ – and now it has been delivered straight into our hands.” Backhouse was finding it difficult to control himself, “I felt, when Babbage showed me what he had created, all those years ago, it was as if he had received a gift from the almighty… a window to a different world. Today God has given us, the Taiping, that same gift. It is a message that God is with us. The information in the ‘Seeing Engine’ will allow us to build even more powerful machines… and weapons…
weapons you could imagine in your wildest dreams. General, the Taiping will rule the earth – the whole world will become the Heavenly Kingdom.
Our
Heavenly Kingdom.”

Jack observed the exchange between Backhouse and General Xiucheng. It was like watching a slow-motion car crash. It was a disaster. It would bring a torrent of unwelcome questions. Jack knew he would be expected to reveal its secrets and help translate them into real, working machines – machines that would be used to help the Taiping win their civil war against the Imperialists. The Taiping had already benefited from industrial and military secrets seeping into the country, but the discovery of their own VIGIL device would give them access to new ideas and innovations which would accelerate this process and quickly translate into a huge military advantage. He felt ill.

General Xiucheng was now nodding slowly at Backhouse. “We must go to Nanjing,” he said. “It will be safer and we need to discuss the implications of this with Hong Rengan and the Heavenly King himself. We must make arrangements immediately. There is no time to lose.”

“What’s he talking about?” Angus whispered to Fleming.

“Nanjing – it is the Taiping capital city – up river,” the captain replied out of the corner of his mouth.”

As they were escorted from General Xiucheng’s tent, Jack noticed the young servant girl who had brought in the tea earlier. She stood stock still at the entrance to the tent, her head bowed in respect. But for some reason, as Jack passed her she raised her face to his. It was the briefest and most subtle of movements and Jack nearly missed it. She was very pretty and
for an instant Jack could not help looking her straight in the eye. Then, for a reason Jack could not begin to fathom, she smiled at him.

T
he journey on the Yangtze river to Nanjing took two hot, sticky and uncomfortable days. General Xiucheng entered the city in triumph. He could announce the capture of the port of Shanghai to his leader, the Heavenly King, in person. But there was an added bonus – the capture of a British army officer and the momentous discovery of the mysterious Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ and two interpreters of its fantastic secrets: Jack and Angus. General Xiucheng, wearing flowing gold robes and a jewelled crown, was carried in a special chair. Backhouse, Jack and Angus rode some way behind, ringed by an escort of
fierce-looking
Taiping guards. Captain Fleming was not with them. There were still occasional raids on the river by the Imperialists from the north against the Taiping rebels and General Xiucheng thought it best to split up the hostages.

Ahead, Jack could see the huge walls – twenty metres high – that enclosed the city of Nanjing in a vast triangle. The gate they entered into to the city led through a ten-metre long tunnel that burrowed through the massive walls.

“Behold!” Backhouse announced. “The Kingdom of Heaven.”

But as far as Jack could see, it looked nothing like the Kingdom of Heaven. He was shocked at the squalor – children
played in the filthy streets and there were scores of beggars.

“We are rebuilding, of course. There is no money and no one owns property. The state provides everything. In this way, people are free to work and to follow the teachings of the Heavenly King. No more corruption, no more greed, no more Imperialism…”

Periodically, military drum and gong signals boomed across the city from lookout towers high up on the walls.

“They’ve got enough soldiers,” Angus said, gaping at the scene before them.

“Ah, the military – the heart of the Taiping.” Backhouse waxed, “The Imperialists, by contrast, are cowardly,
ill-disciplined
and corrupt. Mind you, they are starting to get better. Despite our efforts, the new technologies are starting to seep in… I hear they have airships now, and they have many spies who have stolen secrets from us… you would be surprised. They will even have spies here – in Nanjing. But very soon we will have completely overrun Shanghai and we will have a sea port and, of course, a genuine Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ There will be no stopping the Taiping,” Backhouse announced triumphantly. “Today China – tomorrow, the world!” Angus and Jack exchanged glances.

They rounded a corner and the city changed. The street broadened out and well-kept gardens appeared on either side. There was extensive building work underway and rickety bamboo scaffolding clung to emerging yellow-walled buildings.

“There!” Backhouse waved. “The Palace of the Heavenly King. Isn’t it magnificent?”

The building took Jack’s breath away. An enormous half-built palace rose into the sky – all towers and upward-pointing eaves in the Chinese style. Vast silk drapes and flags hung from the walls, adorned with Chinese writing, symbols and dragons.

The procession came to a halt and a small detachment escorted General Xiucheng through an imposing front gate. Jack, Angus and Backhouse followed in a further group at a respectable distance. They walked through a series of courtyards and rock gardens adorned with miniature trees, hedges and sculptures, until they arrived at a vast pavilion decorated with paintings, gilded flags and lanterns. It was furnished with a desk, a table and chairs – all in the same beautifully carved red lacquer work that Jack had first seen in General Xiucheng’s tent at the encampment outside Shanghai. They waited for a while until a rather plump little man appeared from behind a curtain and scurried in.

“His Excellency Hong Rengan, First Minister of the Heavenly Kingdom,” Backhouse announced.

Rengan greeted General Xiucheng in Mandarin. He eyed Jack and Angus and then, to their surprise, addressed Backhouse in flawless English.

“We received your messages. You have it then? This discovery… this ‘engine’?”

Backhouse flashed a look at General Xiucheng and then fished out the VIGIL device from under his frock coat. Rengan’s eyes bulged in wonder as Backhouse tapped on the screen and scrolled through some of the images.

“If what you say is true, total victory for the Taiping is assured. This calls for celebration.” He clapped his hands and
barked an order. “Now…” he turned to Jack and Angus and put a fatherly arm around their shoulders. “You two have been on a long journey. You are far from Shanghai and far from home, hungry and tired. We will eat and we will drink and then you will rest. When we are all ready, you will show us the secrets of the ‘Seeing Engine’.”

Jack and Angus were led away from the pavilion to an annex across the courtyard. It was luxuriously appointed, except that there were no windows and the door was locked behind them. Jack sat on a low bed and put his head in his hands.

“This is a nightmare.”

“Tell me about it. But what I don’t get is that Backhouse recognised your VIGIL device. He must have seen one before. He said that this Babbage guy had one exactly the same back in England… but how can that be?”

Jack looked up. “Incredible isn’t it? I’ve been trying to work it out… Want to know what I think?”

“We’ve got all day.” Angus gave a crooked smile.

“OK. I think Babbage somehow got hold of a VIGIL device like our one and studied it meticulously. That’s what helped him and the Cambridge Philosophical Society create all these new inventions we’re seeing which shouldn’t exist in 1860. The conference that Fleming mentioned was twenty-five years ago, so the inventions have had time to develop and they’ve seeped from Britain across the rest of the world, including to Backhouse’s Taiping friends right here.”

Angus nodded. “Right, I can understand that – Babbage must
have got hold of the device years ago – but how did he get it in the first place?”

Jack shook his head slowly, “That’s what we need to find out. I can only think of one way it could have happened. A VIGIL agent must have travelled back in time and given it to him.”

“But why? VIGIL would never do that. It’s against all the rules.”

Jack nodded in agreement. “I know, Angus, I know. But how else could it have happened?”

“You’ve heard of this Babbage guy before?”

“Yeah. He’s famous. He was a genius. In ‘real’ history he invented computers about a hundred years before anyone else. He called them ‘Engines’ – there was a ‘Difference Engine’ and an ‘Analytical Engine’ – basically they were calculating computers but with metal cogs and levers and dials and stuff. I can imagine that if someone that brilliant was given a VIGIL device he could easily use it to make up some of the designs it shows. There’s some pretty detailed stuff in some of those apps.”

Angus nodded.

“There’s something else I’ve been thinking about…”

Angus raised his eyebrows, “What?”

“It’s two days since we left Shanghai… remember what the Taurus log said…?”

“You mean – your Dad?”

“Right. He’ll be in Shanghai shortly and we’ll be stuck here in this festering pit more than two days away…”

“And Fenton must be here already…” Angus grimaced.

“Yes, waiting for Dad. But there’s one thing we need
to remember…” Jack reached into his torn undervest to the special pocket. He pulled out the time phone.

Jack smiled. “They were so excited at finding the VIGIL device that they forgot to search the rest of me. Whilst we’ve still got a time phone, we’ve still got hope.”

Angus grinned. “Of course… no signal I guess?”

They peered at the time phone.

“Stupid thing is always dead when you need it most. We just need to be patient.”

“When we get a signal, we can time travel and be ready to meet your Dad when he gets to Shanghai.”

“We just have to keep ourselves out of trouble until then.”

“Can’t see that being a problem.” Angus smiled. “Way I see it, Backhouse and his Taiping cronies need to look after us – they think we’re the ones that can help them use the VIGIL device.” He nodded at the time phone, “You better put that somewhere very safe – you don’t want them to get hold of that as well – then there’d be total carnage.”

There was a rattle at the door. Backhouse, Rengan and two burly guards entered the room. The guards handed each boy silk robes to put on and then they were led away from the pavilion and back through the palace. They crossed a large courtyard – fringed with miniature trees that sprang from ornate flower beds. Ahead, Jack could see a great archway.

“The Inner Temple. Usually only women attend the Heavenly King in the Inner Palace. You are privileged indeed,” Backhouse said with an excited smile.

“Where are we going?” Jack asked.

“We have an audience with the Heavenly King, the leader of the Taiping. You bow and you say nothing, of course. You will be in the presence of the divine. The brother of Jesus Christ, he is not of this earth.” Backhouse said the words with a quiet intensity. Jack gave Angus a sidelong glance. Jack had seen and experienced many extraordinary things over the last few months, but the idea that they were about to meet the brother of Christ stretched the bounds of reason. It was becoming increasingly clear to Jack that Josiah Backhouse was completely unhinged.

They were left to wait for some time in an anteroom, where there was a heavy smell of incense. By the time they were summoned again, both boys ached with tiredness, but on entering the chamber their eyes widened in amazement. The room was brightly decorated in gold and red silk and lit by flickering lanterns. Ahead, was a large bed upon which reclined a figure in magnificent white and gold robes. In the shadows, Jack discerned several figures – all women – dressed in silk robes and wearing high head-dresses. One of the women stepped forward in front of the bed, dropped to her knees and kowtowed several times, addressing the prostrate figure on the couch.

Then there was silence in the chamber. The incense was thick in the air and Jack’s eyes watered. They waited for a few more minutes but still there was no movement from the figure lying on the bed. When he started snoring, loudly, the young woman moved closer to the bed and cleared her throat. Finally, the man awoke and pulled himself up onto his elbow. His eyes flickered and opened and then, raised from his slumber, the Heavenly
King, one of the most powerful men on earth and supposed brother of Jesus Christ – was staring at Jack with big, brown, hypnotic eyes. Jack was mesmerised. He felt as though he was being held in a helpless trance. He remembered the line drawing he had seen in the Edinburgh museum and the portrait on the oil rig of Hong Xiuquan. Jack knew it was the same man. It felt extraordinary to see him in the flesh.

Suddenly, a hand pushed him forward, and Jack realised he should be touching his nose to the ground. He looked around. Backhouse was already kowtowing and Angus began copying him. Jack joined them both on the floor.

“These are the westerners from Shanghai?” the Heavenly King asked. The voice seemed disinterested – as if he couldn’t be bothered with earthly matters. He gave a giant yawn.

Backhouse did not raise his head, but spoke into the floor, “Yes, Heavenly Father… they bring the Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ and with it great knowledge which we will use in our sacred struggle…”

The Heavenly Father yawned again… and said nothing.

Backhouse pressed on, “The First Lord Rengan, General Xiucheng and myself have discussed the matter. We shall take the westerners and the Babbage ‘Seeing Engine’ to the south… where our great factories are. We shall use their secrets to make new war machines to help in our sacred struggle against the Imperialists.”

There was no response from the Heavenly King and then they heard a third giant yawn. Jack looked up. The Heavenly King waved his hand and a bowing girl held out a large pipe.
He took a giant suck on the end of the pipe and exhaled black smoke which swirled up to the ceiling. For a moment, his eyes glazed over… then he became cross-eyed and his head fell back onto the bed and he started snoring again.

Backhouse turned to Jack and Angus, clearly embarrassed and said, “I think our audience is over.” He kowtowed a final time, and they exited from the fog-filled chamber leaving the Heavenly King, brother of Christ and leader of the Taiping Rebellion, to his own heavenly world.