Vanderbilt recieved a telegraph early in the morning which, when uncoded, revealed the treachery of the medical establishment. In short it detailed the wrongs committed, including price gouging, bribery, opposition to public good, and many other charges. None of them were strictly illegal per say, at least not in the empire, but definitly immoral. After reading this list, he was conflicted, on one hand the actions of these establishments go against his sensibilities as a doctor, but they also do not directly impede his work, New Winstam is an autonomous city after all. He may as well tell his subordinates and see what they think, and he may as well begin his newest project now that the sewer system has started in earnest. 

--------

"So...what is the plan?" Eleanor asked.

"Before I talk of that, I must mention the state of the roads in New Winstam using my personal investigating as a basis, they are utterly filthy. While some of that was caused by the sewage, an equal cobtributor would be the horses. So much of New Winstam's traffic consists of horses carrying carts or carriages that they leave mounds of feces for any unwary walker to disturb. Not to mentions the smell, bugs, and germs that they invite. It is abundantely clear that the horse must be replaced lest it sabotage the city for years to come. For good news, I have a friend back from my military days who fancied himself a bit of an inventor, he turned out to be able to live up to that fancy and invented what he claims to be a streetcar that operates solely on electricity. If true, I wish to cover our strets with them."

"What do you need us to do?" Jacob aksed.

"I will meet up with my friend and see if it is ready for use, but I suspect it is since his prototypes were made a few years ago. Clein will inspect the streets, the ones with enough maure piled up will get slated for a streetcar, I will leave the specific quantity up to you. Jacob will present the idea to the mayor. And Eleanor will look for entrepeneurs willing to invest in this. We want to build a company here, the city does not have enough funds to connect the entire city with streetcars, it must be privatized. Understood?"

"Yes sir."

--------------

With his subordinates given their orders, Vanderbilt took the train to meet his military friend in Hawthorne, a small city near New Winstam. Lovely little place, home to many a upper middle-class family and a popular retirement location for New Winstam residents, those that get a retirement that is. Anyway, Vanderbilt's friend lives in a rural area near the city, but they decided to meet in a coffeehouse near the station. The store had a real rustic feel to it, like they went back to the time of a century past, except the coffee they are drinking is actually good and people are not conspiring to overthrow the monarchy. Inside the store Vanderbilt saw his friend, ue appeared portly and looked to have fought with time itself with his decrepit face and shaky limbs, but Vanderbilt knew him for who he waa and went to speak with him. "Hellas my old friend, I have not seen you in ages. How have you been?"

"I am better than ever my friend, my kids are becoming quite independent and accomplished in their careers and I feel positively youthful now that my dreams of inventing are being fulfilled." Hellas replied.

Vanderbilt smiled a real, genuine smile that doesn't cross his face often. "I am pleased to see you doing so well. Shall we go to see this invention of yours? Perhaps we can talk more on the way?"

Hellas smiled, "Sure, my old bones could do with a bit of walking anyway."

---------

While Vanderbilt was walking to Hellas' house, he began talking to the man, "So tell me, how does this 'electric streetcar' work?" 

Hellas scratched his chin a bit while answering, "Well, it basically works by..."

"So, a streetcar needs a cable line above it to operate?" Vanderbilt asked of Hellas, to which he recoeved a nod. "And the electric motor inside recieves the power and runs the streetcar. Alright, if this works then I am perfectly willing to taje it off your hands Hellas."

Hellas chuckled, in a little while they would arrive at his home, and he would be able to show his friend the culmination of his efforts.

----------

They, Vanderbilt and Hellas, took a ride on Hellas' streetcar upon reaching his house. It worked quite well and they had a lovely talk about the good old days whioe drinking tea. But, unfortunately Vanderbilt could not stand being away from New Winstam for long and soon started to make his way back, promising his friend to visit again.