Chasing Time

“Next, we have the most noble recipient of the Order of the Garter, the Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, the Grand Cross of the Bath, the Victoria Cross and the lower grades of Knighthood, the leader of the anti-colonial movement, the bell-ringer of the East India Company, the hero of the Crimean War, a Fellow of the Royal Society, a lifelong dear friend of literary giants such as Dickens and Great Dumas, a steadfast supporter of scientific luminaries like Faraday and Darwin, having served as assistant under-secretary, deputy under-secretary, and permanent under-secretary in departments of the Home Office and the Navy Department of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, the inaugural Cabinet Secretary and head of the civil service, the first graduate and most distinguished alumnus of our school. Please welcome Sir Arthur Hastings to deliver a speech on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the University of London.”
Arthur's gaze swept across the crowd before him, looking at the young faces and murmured, “Agares, what do you think I should say?”
The Red Devil's wraith hovered behind him, saliva almost dribbling from the corner of his mouth, “Look at these ignorant souls; they still worship you as a hero. Why not say something they'd like to hear?”
Arthur took a deep breath and let out a deafening roar, “Oxford is a bunch of whores' bastards!”
“Oh!!!!”
The audience erupted into thunderous applause.
“Cambridge is the same!” he added immediately.
The applause grew even more fervent...
(The protagonist, possessed by a devil, travels through 19th-century Britain in a world without magic)

The Shadow of Great Britain

The fishing industry falls under the Fisheries Committee, urban construction under the Urban Planning Committee, the issuance of tavern licenses was originally a private income source for magistrates, but has now become the responsibility of the tax office, and as for medical schools and hospitals, they are all supervised by the Lord Chancellor's office.


If Scotland Yard managed so many things, we wouldn't be a subordinate agency of the Home Office, but should be a parallel institution. Our annual office budget wouldn't just be three hundred thousand pounds, but three million pounds."


Victor laughed heartily at this and said: "My friend, if you ask me, it's not that the police power in Paris is great, but that your Scotland Yard is too constrained. You gather some intelligence and have to keep it hidden, for fear that the higher-ups would find out. But in Paris, we started buying off 'flies' in large quantities to work for us as early as the 17th century.


Chapter 42: Fear of wolves ahead and tigers behind_3