"Very well, Roberto. I am grateful for your help to the viscounty in a selfless way. Now leave me alone with Simón; I want to speak with him to see if he is the one I am looking for." André spoke, making Roberto hold back his next words and leave.
"Very well, my lord, until later."
After Roberto left, André looked toward Simón, who was standing nervously, and said:
"Sit down; don't be so formal."
Simón relaxed a little and then sat in front of André.
"Do you know what I want to ask of you?"
"I imagine you want me to join the navy, my lord. But I hope you will forgive me: I have no plans to join the navy, at least not now. I believe Roberto must have told you my plans. It may seem like madness to you, but I am determined to do it and there is nothing that will prevent me from doing it." Simón spoke quickly, without giving André an opportunity; he categorically refused whatever it was that he asked of him.
"I believe you are wrong. At no moment did I want to prevent you from exploring the ocean. My objective is the same as yours and I need an experienced commander for this mission. Roberto spoke very well of you, so I want to test you. I already see that you are very brave." André spoke, making Simón fall into shock. It was incredible that some noble was interested in going to the other side of the ocean.
"I see… does the lord want to finance my expedition?" Simón asked.
"Of course not. I have my own expedition and I want you to be the commander of it."
This time Simón was even more surprised; he had not expected that André had even built a fleet to explore out to sea.
"With due respect, my lord, I believe the current ships are not prepared for such a journey, both in speed and in support. I can allow you financing in my expedition if possible, but I beg you to desist from your idea." Simón spoke almost making André laugh.
"I tell you that I have developed a type of vessel that can sail with up to five thousand tons, at a speed of up to twenty knots in favorable times and with adverse times twelve knots. As for endurance, they are made of steel. Tell me if they do not have endurance." André ruthlessly mocked Simón's words, who did not get angry at the mockery; instead, he had shock in his heart. With this type of vessel he was ninety percent sure of achieving his objective. He did not believe that André was lying to him.
"Please, let me direct this mission." Simón stood up, then bowed and asked to direct the expedition.
"Wait a moment. I have still not decided that you will be the commander of this expedition. Take this and try to tell me what you understand of it. Keep in mind that it will be your first test."
André handed a small object to Simón, who took it with seriousness on his face and began to study it.
What André handed to Simón was a compass, which was very simple to make for André. A compass basically has three fundamental elements: a base with a ruler and a reference arrow; a limb or graduated disk that rotates on its own axis; and a magnetized needle that points toward the north.
André waited patiently and, after a while, Simón said:
"My lord, I believe this is some type of direction indicator. I still cannot manage to understand why the needles only point in a specific direction, but this will be of great utility at sea."
"Worthy of being a navigation genius. You can see that at sea this is of great use. That is right: this is called a compass. As for the direction it points to, it is the north. With knowledge of navigation, you must know that from this point it is very easy to draw direction lines." André briefly explained the use of the compass to Simón.
"My lord, this is a great advance in navigation. With this we can draw maps of the ocean. I believe we will be pioneers exploring the sea." Simón was excited.
"I believe other people, even having this compass, would not dare to explore the ocean." André said something that left Simón disconcerted.
"Very well, you passed my first test. Now tell me: what do you think of the death that was mentioned in the records of the world emperor? I believe you must know what I am referring to."
This was the most important thing for André. Depending on his answer, he would decide if Simón was suitable to be commander of the expedition.
Then Simón understood why André said that no one would dare to explore the ocean even with the compass. He thought for a moment before answering:
"My lord, I believe that said death in reality did exist. I do not know from where it would come or if it still exists, but that will not stop me. Although in these ten years of navigation on the high seas we never sighted any indication of its existence." Simón said with a face of firmness. It could be seen that he was determined even to die. André was very pleased.
"Very well, you passed my test. From now on you will be Captain General of the navy of the Solomon Viscounty. Take this small book: it contains all the regulations of the navy. I hope you learn them; this is very important."
Simón nodded and took the book very seriously.
"Go; tomorrow you will be formally presented." André dismissed him.
"Yes, my lord."
Watching his departure, André was busy thinking. Simón seemed to have been born for this mission. Suddenly André realized that everything he needed always found the most suitable person for it, as if everything were arranged beforehand. His face immediately became serious; he stood up and walked toward the garden, where Grace was painting.
"What's wrong with so much haste?" Grace found it strange upon seeing André's hurried face.
Upon seeing Grace's smile, André's mood improved. He realized that, even if his conjectures were correct, right now he could not do anything. He decided to accelerate the excavation of the ship in the mine; he always felt that there he would find several answers to his doubts.
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