Hackworth in China Summary

Back in Chinese territory, Hackwork rides his mount across different provinces. During his ride, he can observe the effects of the ongoing revolution on the landscape. He reaches Suzhou, where he stops in front of what used to be a MacDonald restaurant. He is led inside the building and meets with Dr. X. The doctor confirms that Hackworth is indeed the Alchemist he was seeking. He reveals to the engineer that his years spent with the Drummers served only one purpose: to integrate his technical knowledge with the rest of the Drummers so that it could be used to complete the doctor's project. The process was short-circuited by the Victorians' intervention, but the amount of information gathered was still significant enough to allow the revolution to go through and build the Seed. The doctor explains that the Seed is...