Creating an Industrial Empire in 19th Century Parallel World

It was a typical autumn day in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The trees outside were changing colors, their leaves turning into shades of orange, yellow, and red.

Inside the office of Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company, Poul and Jonathan were working diligently on their daily tasks, sifting through files and stamping documents. The air was filled with the sounds of rustling papers and the occasional hum of the machines.

Suddenly, the door to the office burst open, and in walked Amelia, holding a file tightly against her chest. Her bright smile lit up the room as she greeted the two men.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Axelsen, Mr. Nielsen. I just arrived from the bank to check if Mr. Wanderbilt already made the transfer," she said.

Poul and Jonathan looked up at her with anticipation in their eyes. The transfer from Mr. Wanderbilt had been the talk of the town for days, and they had been anxiously awaiting the news.

"Well, has he already made the transfer?" Poul asked eagerly.

Amelia couldn't hold back her excitement any longer. She grinned from ear to ear and nodded her head vigorously.

"Twelve million and five hundred thousand dollars are already reflected on the company's bank statement," she announced triumphantly.

Poul and Jonathan let out a whoop of joy, their smiles spreading across their faces. They exchanged a look of sheer happiness.

"Yes!" Jonathan exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and throwing the documents up in the air. He quickly retrieved them, laughing at his own mistake. "Oh no, I am working on one of the documents there…"

The Axelsen & Nielsen Air Brake Company just completed their twenty-five million dollar contract from Mr. Wanderbilt, not only that, they secured a partnership from his railroads where their company will be the one to retrofit their future steam locomotives with air brakes, heating systems, automatic couplers, locomotive draft gear, and suspension system.

"We are going to keep it coming," Poul exclaimed, waving his hand.

"Well we might as well take it easy, Poul," Jonathan said. "Even though I'm happy that we are getting orders left and right if we can't keep up with the demand, we might end up losing our reputation and customers," Jonathan said, his tone serious.

Poul nodded in agreement, realizing the importance of keeping up with demand while maintaining quality.

"You're right, Jonathan. We need to make sure we have the resources and manpower to handle all these orders."

He then flickered his gaze back to their executive secretary, Amelia.

"So Amelia, that's the line of business, has your team already come up with a way to deal with those challenges?"

Amelia nodded, her expression determined. "Yes, Mr. Nielsen. We've been working on a new plan to streamline our production processes and increase efficiency. We're also looking into hiring more workers to meet the demand," she said confidently.

Poul and Jonathan were impressed by her initiative and determination.

"That's excellent work, Amelia. Keep us updated on the progress," Poul said with a smile.

Amelia nodded and turned to leave the room, but just as she reached the door, she paused and turned back around. "Oh, and Mr. Nielsen, Ms. Dupont would like to have a conversation with you over the phone at three o'clock in the afternoon. Please see to it that you're available at that time," she said, her voice professional and efficient.

"Did she tell you what we are going to talk about?" Poul asked, curious as to why Caroline would want to talk with them.

Amelia shook her head. "No, she didn't mention anything specific, just that it's important and urgent," she replied.

Jonathan frowned slightly, wondering what could be so urgent that Caroline would want to speak with them directly. "Alright, thank you for letting us know, Amelia. We'll make sure to be available at three o'clock," he said, dismissing her with a nod.

As soon as Amelia had left the room, Poul turned to Jonathan, a look of concern on his face. "What do you think could be the cause as to why Caroline wanted to talk to us?"

Jonathan shrugged his shoulders as he read the document in his hand. "I have no idea, Poul. But whatever that is, I'm sure it's related to the business."

"Jonathan, if you want, you can be the one to talk to her. I'm busy at three o'clock anyway as I have a meeting with the engineers in the drawing room."

"Really?" Jonathan looked at Poul in surprise.

"Do you not want to talk to her? I mean, you two haven't seen each other for so long, you might use this opportunity to catch up to one another," Poul explained.

"I see," Jonathan nodded slowly. "Well, I guess that makes sense. It has been a while since we last spoke," he said, his tone thoughtful.

The rest of the day passed by in a blur of meetings and paperwork. Poul and Jonathan were both preoccupied with their own tasks, but their minds kept drifting back to the impending call from Caroline.

Finally, three o'clock rolled around. Poul already excused himself and is now on his way to the drawing room. Jonathan, on the other hand, waited patiently for the black rotary telephone sitting on his desk to ring.

Finally, the telephone rang. He quickly composed himself and answered the call, "Hello, this is Jonathan Axelsen speaking."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Axelsen. This is Caroline Dupont speaking. I appreciate you taking my call," Caroline spoke with a composed and refined voice. "But let us not dwell on formalities, I believe you are curious as to the purpose of my call?"

"To be honest, Poul and I were guessing what it would be."

"Oh, really?" Caroline mused. "Well then, what is your speculation?"

"Business?" Jonathan disclosed.

"Indeed, Mr. Axelsen, we are here to discuss business," Caroline responded with a refined tone. "I was informed by Amelia that you are working on developing a new type of pistol for the military?"

"Yes, we asked Ms. Weiss to inform you about it. With the situation in Europe, the prospect of war is imminent, and at any moment, it could escalate into a full-blown conflict," Jonathan explained.

"I presume you intend to capitalize on this opportunity?" Caroline inquired.

"That is correct, Caroline. The arms industry is lucrative in this era and we want to make the most out of it. The pistol would serve as another great product from the Axelsen & Nielsen Arms Manufacturing Company."

"Why limit yourself to developing pistols when you could create a machine gun like Hiram's invention? I am certain that the military generals would be more interested in acquiring machine guns than pistols," Caroline suggested.

"Well, maybe but the production line so far is focused on AN-M1 to meet the orders from the United States Military. At this moment, we can only make pistols," Jonathan explained.

"I see, well, I'm sure you are going to need a continued supply of smokeless gunpowder right?"

"Yes, we are going to need tons of it," Jonathan said, chuckling.

"Very well, I shall see what I can do. But before we end this call, Jonathan, I must inquire, when do you intend to establish an electric company? James Russel has been receiving contracts from the states, and if you do not want to be left behind, I suggest you start your venture in electricity next year," Caroline recommended.

"There's no rush, Caroline. Let James Russell have his streak of contracts."

"I'm just saying," Caroline said. "Well, I have nothing more to discuss, we can end this call. Goodbye Jonathan."

"Goodbye, Caroline."