Mr. Rat of the Steam World

Chapter 89 Historical Contradictions (3k4)

The main hall of the salon was a brightly lit hall with tall bookshelves along the walls, piled high with yellowed classics and recently published periodicals.

As Perez led Afra and Mattia in, Lu Ran was also observing his surroundings. Five people were already seated around a large oak table in the center.

The most conspicuous among them was an elderly man with graying hair and a slightly receding bald head. His gold-rimmed glasses had slipped down to the middle of his nose, forcing him to tilt his chin slightly when looking at people. This must be the so-called Professor Al.

Beside the professor sat a young nobleman dressed in exceptionally fine clothes, his slender fingers casually toying with a gold monocle. Upon seeing Afra and her party, he immediately smiled and waved familiarly.

"Miss Afra, there's a seat here!"

However, Afra merely glanced at it politely, nodded slightly, and then looked away.

Lu Ran secretly sized him up. He had initially thought this guy was Afra's friend, but if he were a friend, given Afra's previous attitude towards Mattia, there was no way she would have ignored him.

Now it seems more likely to be... one of his suitors?
Next came a young couple, who were huddled together, chatting and laughing in hushed tones, behaving intimately, and seemingly not very interested in the salon sharing session that was about to begin.

Finally, there was one who had the most unique demeanor. She looked to be around thirty years old, with rough skin and some faint old scars visible on her neck.

He sat upright, his hands clasped together in front of him, head bowed, staring intently at the tablecloth. He looked neither like an aristocrat nor a businessman, but rather like... a member of the underworld.

Lu Ran was somewhat curious about the other person's identity, after all, this guy seemed out of place and out of place with his surroundings.

Perez stopped at the table, a warm smile on his face, his voice clear and friendly:
"Thank you all for coming from afar. I have prepared a light meal. Let's have something to eat first, get to know each other, and refresh ourselves. Later, we will invite Professor Al to share his relevant theories with us."

His gaze swept over everyone, signaling the waiter to begin serving the dishes.

Upon hearing this, Afra, who was still somewhat tired, suddenly brightened up. The four-hour carriage ride, even in a comfortable private carriage, had left her legs feeling sore and numb.

Moreover, we set off in the afternoon, and it's almost dinnertime now, so I'm feeling a little hungry.

“Miss Afra, Miss Mattia, please have a seat.” Perez pulled out two adjacent chairs for them. He himself considerately sat on Mattia’s other side.

The waiter silently approached and placed warm napkins and refreshing lemonade in front of the guests.

Dinner was indeed as Perez had described: a simple meal prepared with care: an appetizing clear mushroom soup with a delightful aroma, a main course of tenderly pan-fried trout with vibrant seasonal vegetables, and a small, spiced roasted chicken, accompanied by soft croissants and several delicate pastries.

As the meal began, Perez skillfully controlled the atmosphere. He turned to Professor Al and said with concern, "Professor, you must be tired from your journey. This soup is quite good. Would you like to try it and see if it suits your taste?"

Professor Al chuckled and took a big gulp of soup, wiping his mouth. "Hey, I'm an old man, but I took a couple of naps on the way, so I'm still full of energy! At least I got a hot meal, much better than eating dry bread!" As he spoke, he stuffed another big piece of fish into his mouth, eating with great relish.

Meanwhile, the refined young nobleman was clearly still not giving up. He elegantly cut the roast chicken with his fork while frequently trying to strike up a conversation with Afra.

"Miss Afra seems to be quite busy lately? We haven't seen you at the balls a few times; everyone misses your graceful dancing. By the way, try this trout; it's delicious..."

Afra dipped some bread into the sauce on her plate and replied politely, "I do have something to do... Well, the trout is very fresh."

After she finished speaking, she immediately turned slightly to pick up a small piece of golden-brown roasted chicken for Mattia, who was sipping soup and seemed to have a poor appetite. She said in a low voice, "Matia, don't just drink soup, eat something to warm yourself up."

The young couple were sharing food from their plates. The girl picked up a small pastry, brought it to her lover's lips, and whispered sweetly, "This rose-filled one is special, would you like to try it?"

The middle-aged man at the end of the table, with a sharp and capable demeanor, ate in silence. He cut meat with deft movements, his cheek muscles bulging slightly as he chewed, and he put down his fork almost silently. His gaze remained lowered, only glancing up briefly when Professor Al occasionally spoke.

Everyone tacitly refrained from initiating a discussion on the topic, as they were all worried that eating would disrupt the flow of conversation.

Inside Afra's handbag, Lu Ran was chewing on a small piece of delicious roast chicken that was handed to him when he suddenly heard someone ask a question.

“By the way, forgive my intrusion…” The fashionable young nobleman, seeing that Afra had no intention of engaging in conversation, looked slightly somber. He then glanced around before his gaze settled on the silent middle-aged man. “May I ask who this gentleman is…?”

Upon hearing someone mention him, the lean and wiry man managed a slight smile.

"Young Master Moore had something come up and couldn't make it. It just so happens that I'm also very interested in Professor El's knowledge sharing, so I shamelessly asked for an invitation to come and listen."

Upon hearing this, everyone understood, and their eyes held a hint of confusion.

If it's Moore, then there's no surprise. He said he had some things to do, but most likely he's just short of money, so he sold the spot.

These are also things that many impoverished nobles often do.

Perez didn't seem to mind, simply smiling and saying, "You're very welcome." Dinner ended in a fairly pleasant conversation. The waiters quietly and efficiently cleared away the plates, replacing them with steaming coffee, fragrant black tea, and a plate of tempting fresh fruit.

Perez took a sip of his black tea, then set down the cup, tapping his knuckles lightly on the table twice. His impeccably gentle smile remained, but his voice clearly drew everyone's attention: "Has everyone almost finished eating? Then, Professor Al..."

He turned slightly to the side and gestured to the professor, "We can begin."

Upon hearing this, Professor Al immediately put down the napkin he was using to wipe his mouth and cleared his throat.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Professor Al's voice was warm, "it is a great honor to be invited by Mr. Perez to discuss with you some... well, those lingering mysteries in our historical records."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the young listeners at the table, lingering for a moment on the face of the sharp-looking middle-aged man.

“We all know…” Professor Al placed his hands, fingers interlaced, on the edge of the table, “our history education tells us that from agriculture to iron tools, and then to the magnificent steam engine, pneumatic pipes, and precision machinery of today, human civilization has undergone a long but clear, step-by-step development process. The scientific rationality we are so proud of is built on this logic of progress.”

Everyone nodded instinctively.

“However,” the professor abruptly changed the subject, picking up another book of his, *The Rise of Kingdoms: Britain*, “you all know that my books all say one thing: history is not a linear process!”

He tapped the book cover with his finger. "Open any official textbook, and it says that the Industrial Revolution was an inevitable explosion of human ingenuity. Hmm, at first glance, that sounds good! Steam engines, trains, pneumatic devices—how ingenious! But if you think about it closely, it just won't stand up!"

His voice lowered: "Humans spent a hundred thousand years learning to use fire, then another ten thousand years inventing the wheel... and suddenly—bang! We wake up one morning and we can build trains and spinning machines?"

He shrugged, his voice suddenly becoming more relaxed: "That doesn't make sense! It's like your kid was playing with clay yesterday, and today he suddenly wrote a novel that's a nationwide bestseller. Wouldn't you be suspicious?"

Not everyone finished reading Professor Al's book, but after hearing this opening, even the couple who had been somewhat distracted became a little interested.

Professor Ayr continued, "It is we historians who have discovered so many things in those ancient documents that cannot be explained by this smooth development theory."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Take this land beneath our feet, for example. Are you familiar with Stonehenge, the megalithic ring of Stone Hill?"

Seeing Afra nod quickly, Professor El continued, "Dozens of huge basalt rocks, each weighing over a hundred tons, were cut and polished with an inexplicable precision, and some of their surfaces even exhibit a smooth, almost crystalline texture."

Most remarkably, the orientation of some of these stones, after precise mapping, astonishingly coincided with the celestial trajectories of distant stars during specific eras!

Afra's eyes lit up, and Mattia's sadness seemed to be temporarily suppressed by curiosity. Perez smiled and quietly sipped his black tea. The wiry middle-aged man narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Our official historical records say it was a sacrificial site of an ancient tribe,” Professor El said, his tone laced with undisguised mockery.

"A ritual! Does an ancient tribe that has not even mastered iron tools and can barely guarantee its survival need such a massive project to express its reverence for the gods?"
More importantly, how did they manage to do it? By hitting stone with stone? By prying it open with sticks? In the desolate heart of the desert, with no water resources available and no modern heavy machinery to their name! This explanation… is far too weak and unconvincing!

Afra couldn't help but whisper, "Could it be... that there really is a lost civilization?"

“A lost civilization?” Professor El chuckled. “That’s a great starting point, Miss Afra! But what we’re seeing is more than just technology!”

"Look at our historical records. There are several periods known as the Mist Age or the Golden Twilight, but they are vague and filled with heroic tales and other elements that are now considered myths."

And precisely after these eras deliberately obscured by official history, a large-scale restart of civilization occurred, with abrupt changes in architectural styles, a seemingly reset technological system, and numerous gaps in knowledge.

The professor's voice was suggestive: "Think about those mythical heroic deeds attributed to the fantasies of our ancestors. Those stories of moving mountains and filling seas, controlling thunder. If they were just fantasies, why would they appear so concentratedly after a specific break in time? And is there some subtle correspondence between them and the era in which those wonders existed?"

He spread his hands: "This makes me wonder if our history books only show us what we want to see, and whether the rest has been deliberately forgotten, or even... erased?"

Afra suddenly realized what was happening and blurted out, "So... Professor, that's why your book was criticized and banned?"

Professor Al shrugged and smiled nonchalantly, saying, "They say my theory is fallacious, but who knows what the truth is?"

A brief silence fell over the dining table. Just then, the wiry man, who had remained as still as a stone, slowly raised his head: "So, Professor, do you think those fantastical stories could possibly be true? I mean… did the occult… ever exist?"

Lu, who had been listening intently, was only taken aback.

How can this kind of thing be discussed at a gathering?

(End of this chapter)