Shanghai Sparrow Read Free Page A

hand.
    Holmforth, against his will, found himself intrigued. Lathrop did not exactly sell it well: he frequently backtracked, muddled his references and at times barely seemed to understand his own discoveries. But there was a persuasive elegance in what he described that was far more appealing than the man himself.
    To tranquilise and pacify. If it worked, it was something Holmforth had every reason to believe might hold interest for his superiors.
    “And what is this notation here?” he said.
    “Oh, that was something to do with... I mean, I made some experimentation with the Folk.” Lathrop gave him a sidelong glance. “They seemed intrigued by the sounds. But I found no profit in taking it further. Should it be of interest, of course, given sufficient investment, I could make further experiments.”
    “I see. Well, thank you for bringing this to me,” Holmforth said. “I feel this might well be of interest. I shall contact you as soon as I have a response.”
    It took, as expected, another hour to persuade the man out of his office, after which Holmforth wrestled open every window in order to rid the place of the pervasive reek of sweat, over-scented pomade, and self-importance.
    Then he took the matter to the head of his department, Rupert Forbes-Cresswell.
    “Etheric science?” Forbes-Cresswell said. Sun poured through the high window of his much larger office, haloing his thick blond hair. “My dear fellow, it’s nothing but one of those fads, like the health-giving properties of electricity.”
    “I thought there were some interesting points in his work. He appeared to have some evidence for its effectiveness.”
    “Oh, it’s obvious people are affected by sounds. Especially weaker minds: women, children, the lower orders. One only has to attend the music hall to see it in action.”
    “I haven’t done so.”
    “It provides an interesting evening’s study of the vulgar, though I did end up having to throw away a perfectly good coat afterwards. If you want to know more, there’s always old Frobisher. He became interested, briefly. But I can tell you what he’ll say; he gave me quite the treatise on the subject. Sound manipulation of this sort is an ability, not a science. It tends to manifest in certain people, usually women – rather the way some simpletons can calm horses. Possibly because their voices are different, you know. Frobisher thought it might be why lullabies are effective! It could be this Lathrop is some sort of hermaphrodite, and that is why he has the ability? Or he could be simply deluded. Oh, the Higher Folk, of course, have some ability to use sound to manipulate the senses, singing, and so on...” He let the sentence hang, but Holmforth said nothing. “There may be a connection there. Do you have any reason to believe Lathrop may be, ah...”
    “I don’t believe so,” Holmforth said. “He had apparently made some experiments and found they were intrigued by the sounds, but didn’t see worth in taking it further.”
    “I’m afraid I don’t either,” Forbes-Cresswell said. “He may have stumbled upon something that imitates a natural effect by accident, but all these instruments...” He swept a hand over the paper Holmforth had put on his desk. “Rubbish, really, I’m afraid. An attempt to gild a not very impressive lily.”
    “Well, in that case, I’m sorry to have taken up your time.”
    “Not at all, not at all. Do give my regards to your father, next time you rusticate.”
    Holmforth bowed himself out of the office, his face utterly calm. He had a great deal of practice in hiding his humiliation. And until he had been posted to Shanghai, and first encountered a rumour about what Wu Jisheng was up to, in among all the other fragments, half-truths, blatant lies and wild exaggerations, he thought he had forgotten the incident.
    But now, he had the evidence in his hands. Etheric science existed, and could be used in ways that no-one had imagined. There had been