The clarion call of the textile industry's counterattack

Joseph's face instantly lit up with delighted surprise. He stepped forward to stroke the machine, whose design looked old-fashioned-or perhaps futuristic by the standards of this era-and turned to Louis XVI. "You are absolutely the greatest master mechanic in all of France-no, in all of Europe!

"You built this machine perfectly in less than half a year!"

"I only copied it." Louis XVI pursed his lips. "And it's just a boring contraption for weaving cloth..."

As he spoke, a gleam returned to his eyes. "By the way, son, when are we going to start developing that rifled gun you mentioned last time?"

"Whenever you like." Joseph smiled, then patted the automatic loom beside him. "And I must say, this is no 'boring contraption.' It's the hope of French industry!

"Do you remember the British's most important source of revenue? It's their textile exports.

"The British have already begun using these machines in their factories. They can reduce textile costs by more than 20% while increasing output severalfold.

"Without your hard work, Lyon's textile factories would soon have been driven into a dead end by the British, with large numbers eventually closing down. Now, however, we have what it takes to compete with them!"

Joseph silently gave his father a thumbs-up. You've just completed such a huge project, yet you want neither a bonus nor a holiday. You're the very model of a French model worker!

Before long, a length of cotton gauze more than two meters wide appeared at the end of the machine, steadily growing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The automatic loom immediately sprang into motion. Its winding drum rotated slowly, and numerous flying shuttles darted back and forth under the weavers' control-well, automatic looms of this era were nowhere near fully automatic, but even