Chapter 1: King Arthur's Court

I was at Warwick Castle in England when I met a stranger. He told me many stories about the past. I liked them very much. Then we saw some very old armour. There was a bullet hole in the armour.

“This hole is later. It comes after the invention of firearms,” said the guide.

“I did it,” said the stranger, and smiled.

I was very surprised. The stranger was staying at my hotel. He came to my room and gave me a manuscript. His name was Hank Morgan. This is his story.

I was in my factory in Connecticut. A worker hit me on the head and I fell down. I woke up under a tree and saw a strange man in armour on a horse. He said I was his prisoner. His name was Sir Kay. I went with him to a village. He said it was Camelot. I was sure it was a lunatic asylum.

I thought all the people were mad. They all looked at my clothes. They thought I was strange.

I started to talk to a page. His name was Clarence.

“Where am I?” I asked.

“King Arthur’s Court, in the year 513,” he answered. “You are a prisoner. They are going to kill you. But I will come and visit you in prison.”

Then some people took me to the King at his round table. There were lots of knights sitting round the table eating. Lots of people served them food. Beautiful ladies watched from a balcony. Musicians played on another balcony. The room was very big and made of stone. The knights’ and ladies’ clothes were beautiful.

An old man stood up and told a story. Everyone was bored and fell asleep. The old man was Merlin. Then Sir Kay told the story of my capture. He told a lot of lies and said I was very dangerous. He presented me to Queen Guenever. He said my clothes were magic. They took away my clothes and then put me in prison. I fell asleep.

When I woke up, I thought it was all a dream. Then I realized it was true: I was a prisoner at King Arthur’s court. Clarence came to visit me.

“Help me to escape,” I said to him.

“I can’t,” he answered. “There are lots of guards. And Merlin has put a spell on this prison. No one can escape. Tomorrow at noon they are going to burn you.”

I was very miserable but I had an idea.

“I am not afraid,” I said. “I am a very powerful magician. Is today the 20th of June?”

“Yes, it is,” said Clarence.

“Then go and tell the king that if he burns me, tomorrow the world will end in darkness. I’ll end light and warmth. Everyone will die.”

I knew from my studies that on 21st June 513 there was a total solar eclipse. That was my magic: to make the sun disappear!

The next day they came to get me and tied me to a big tree. People sat to watch all around. Everyone wanted to see. I was afraid. And if my calculations were wrong? Then everyone looked up. The eclipse was beginning!

“Burn him,” shouted Merlin.

“Stop!” shouted King Arthur. “Have mercy! Do not destroy the sun. What do you want? I can give you anything!”

I said I wanted to be his minister and help him, and he agreed. The solar eclipse was now total, everything was dark. So I pointed to the sun and shouted, “Pass away and do not harm us!” The sun started to come out again and everyone was happy.

I became the first minister and the most powerful man in Camelot. Clarence was my assistant. I had beautiful but very uncomfortable clothes and the best rooms after the king. People came from all over the country to see me. I was famous, but they wanted another piece of powerful magic from me.

Merlin was in prison. He was my enemy, so I said I wanted to explode his tower with fire from the sky. His tower was an old Roman one and very solid. One stormy night I filled it with gunpowder and attached a metal stick to it. Then I told everyone to gather, and we watched as the lightning hit the tower and it exploded. Everyone was afraid. They thought I was a very powerful magician.

As time passed, I realized that the people in Camelot were like children. They were very simple. They couldn’t read or write and they were not logical. They believed everything they heard. I started to open secret schools and a secret military academy. I put down telephone wires to have telephones. I wanted to create newspapers. I taught Clarence to be a journalist. The king and the nobles believed they were better than me because I was not noble, but they respected my intelligence. I thought I was better than them because I was intelligent, but I liked them. No one admitted all this and we got on very well.

After four years, King Arthur was very happy with my work. He was richer because I managed his money well. I also distributed it better, and the people of Camelot were happier. They started to call me ‘The Boss’. I liked it.

The main entertainment at Camelot was jousting. Hundreds of knights took part and many were injured. Sometimes the knights went to save princesses from dragons. They believed in dragons and giants.

One day a girl came to Camelot. Her name was Alisande la Carteloise. She said her mistress and forty-four girls, many of whom were princesses, were captive in a castle. The guards were three huge men with four arms and one eye. At Camelot, they decided I had to rescue them. I decided it was time for a holiday so I agreed.

I asked Alisande questions. She couldn’t tell me anything.

“Where is the castle?”

“Many miles away,” she answered.

“How many,” I asked.

“I don’t know,” she said. “They all look the same.”

I got up early and had breakfast. Then I put on my armour. It took a very long time. There were many pieces and I couldn’t move or do anything. They had to carry me out and lift me onto the horse. I felt like a ship going to sea. Then Alisande climbed onto the horse behind me. She had to show me the way to the castle. We started out and everyone waved good bye to us.