Today I am excited to provide you with a fantastic Character Interview by author Scott Kinkade. SteamU Professor Kinkade is the author of The Infini Calendar series (The Game Called Revolution, Secrets of the New World, and The Revolution Beyond Time). Enjoy and join us again next week for another exciting SteamU lecture!
Jeanne: Such rudeness. But if you must know, I'm 32.
Jeanne: I'm French by birth, but circumstances have forced me to move to America.
Jeanne: Well, currently I'm George Washington's secretary. Before that, I was the commander of an elite unit of the French Army called the Ordre de la Tradition.
Interviewer: What exactly is the Ordre de la Tradition?
Jeanne: As I said, it was a unit of the French Army. We answered only to King Louis XVI—at least, before the Revolution began.
Interviewer: And what did the Ordre do?
Jeanne: Whatever His Majesty ordered us to do. Mostly we fought threats to France.
Interviewer: Who all was in this unit?
Jeanne: Besides me? There was Pierre, my second-in-command and…well, it gets somewhat personal and embarrassing. There was also Victor who was certainly capable but not exactly shy with his…err, lifestyle. Oh, and I can't forget Celeste, the child prodigy who kept our airship running.
Interviewer: You had an airship?
Jeanne: Yes. We had a few. The Minuit Solaire, and later the Minuit Solaire II. Both were equipped with state-of-the-art propulsion systems, though their weaponry differed greatly. The first one was equipped with a steam cannon and harpoons, while the second had a weapon that could harness the power of electricity to strike down enemies. Fortunately, Celeste had little trouble adapting to either airship.
Interviewer: Interesting. Let's change the subject for a moment. Tell us about the colorful places you've visited.
Jeanne: The Tuileries in Paris is beautiful—when Maximilien Robespierre isn't using it as a deadly electrical generator. I also enjoy the Palace of Versailles. One memorable place we visited was Mt. Erfunden in the Austrian Netherlands.
Interviewer: The volcano that erupted a few years back?
Jeanne: The very same. We were actually the ones who made it erupt. You see, the enemies of France had converted it into an airship factory, and I decided the best way to destroy it was to trigger an eruption. It worked—though we were nearly killed in the process.
But perhaps the most memorable locale we went to was the Gnostagar house in Washington.
Jeanne: Shape-shifting monsters from another world. Long story. Anyway, one of them had killed the vice-president, John Adams, and taken his place. He then summoned a gigantic house in the middle of Washington, and we had to fight our way through it. Eventually, Farahilde managed to destroy the whole thing and restore the city to normal.
Interviewer: Farahilde Johanna? The Austrian princess? I understand you two were friends.
Jeanne: I suppose you could call us that. She did torture my brother once, but I don't think she's a bad person at heart. She just has an unfortunate way of channeling her passion.
Interviewer: Now I want to get down to what the readers really want to know about: your eye patch.
Jeanne: Well, as you can see, I no longer wear it. But yes, I used to wear one. It was necessary due to a curse—or whatever you want to call it—placed on my family by God centuries ago. It was passed down from mother to daughter for years before I finally managed to get rid of it.
Interviewer: What was the effect of the curse?
Jeanne: It possessed our right eye. It caused us to be assaulted by a veritable sea of information about whatever we looked upon. For instance, if I still had it, I could tell everything about you; where you were born, your body's exact composition, when you bought the clothes you're wearing, etc. It drove more than one of my ancestors to madness.
Interviewer: Goodness! OK, next question. How does your world differ from the other one?
Jeanne: You mean, what happened to make the timelines diverge? Well, it all goes back to my ancestor, Jeanne d'Arc. She was supposed to be burned at the stake, but she disobeyed God, and used the power He had given her, to escape the English. The energy she released split the timeline in two. Now, in this new world our queen Marie Antoinette championed the use of steam power, and so France became more technologically advanced. Also, America became rich in a mysterious power source called coralite.
Interviewer: Last question. What have you learned during your adventures?
Jeanne: I learned not to give up. When I was at my lowest and contemplating suicide, Farahilde taught me you need to have something to fight for. She gave me a purpose again. But most importantly, I learned this: the true power of the human spirit is in living when all you want is death.
Many thanks to Scott Kinkade for joining us today! Check back next week for another exciting SteamU lecture!