43
Dr. Beetle, the Tyrant of Beetleburg and master of the University, had been a friend of Barry Heterodyne, and one of the few people who had known the truth of Agatha’s lineage, as well as the secret of her locket. He had kept her as close as possible by making her one of his lab assistants. The Lady Heterodyne has acknowledged that he was responsible for teaching her much about laboratory methodology, small town management, and advanced ranting.
44
Bartolomeo Christofori di Francesco was an Italian creator of musical instruments. He is credited with inventing the piano. This invention did not experience great success however, until two years later, when he invented the piano bench.
45
This useful little hand gesture tends to be made as surreptitiously as possible, since even crude, home- brewed clanks tended to be big, fast, and possessed of an fine sense of self-preservation.
46
In the Heterodyne plays, Lucrezia Mongfish was the ingenue, to be sure, but initially, she was always portrayed as a comically evil figure, who was vain, megalomaniacal, treacherous and an inveterate liar. She was always redeemed by the power of Bill Heterodyne’s love sometime in the third act, but until then, she was an audience favorite.
47
From the description, it seems likely that the Princess Anevka was wearing something from Monsieur Oliphaunt of Paris’ “Beautiful Abominations of Science” line. A perennial favorite amongst Sparky fashonistas with a taste for vivisection. As
48
Romanian was the official language of the Empire. However most educated people in the sciences, were conversant in Latin, Greek, and German, as well as English (the language of trade) and French (the language of diplomacy). Certain schools of mathematics are best discussed in Arabic, and Russian is always good for a laugh. At this time, thanks to her secretarial duties for the late Tyrant of Beetleburg, Agatha was conversant in all of them.
49
Cleonicus Rollipod, Ph.D, Order of the Steel Pen, etc., was a brilliant botanist, who single-handedly developed the universally popular “Meat Wheat,” despite the fact that he was convinced that he was really a giant bumblebee (bombus megamaxillosus). Luckily he was one of those people who looked good in yellow and black.
50
As much as he tried, Klaus could not be everywhere. Occasionally he empowered extraordinary individuals to act in his stead. The Baron’s Questors were arguably some of the most powerful figures in Europa at this time. They could go anywhere. Demand to see anything. And at a moment’s notice, demand co-operation or obedience from any of the Baron’s people, as well as act as judge, jury and executioner. They were doubly annoying because they tended to travel incognito, so one always had to be careful about who you arrested (which was rather the point). They also tended to be damned hard to kill. However the penalties for defying or incarcerating them paled beside what happened if you impersonated one. Naturally, they were the heroes of hundreds of folk tales, legends and stories.
51
Being a Spark was dangerous. This was no secret. Many Sparks dealt with the ever-present possibility of death or defeat by constructing elaborate doomsday devices. Finding and disarming these was a popular staple in Heterodyne Plays. For Sparks, end-of-life counseling usually involved architects and demolitions experts.
52
The identity of The Other, who had destroyed Castle Heterodyne, wiped out over thirty of the Great Spark Houses of Europa and precipitated the Long War, was one of the greatest mysteries of this time. The Other never issued demands, ultimatums or justifications for her actions, leading some to wonder if she was a Spark at all.
53
The Fifty Families are a coalition of those families that used to rule Europa. Their ancestors were brigands and thugs who were so good at killing people that the remaining people started giving them things so they’d stop. This made them Royalty. These days their descendants never mention this, as it seems entirely too much like honest labor. While the Fifty Families can do nothing directly about Klaus, they still have enough influence that they can be an annoyance.
