"History was divided into milieus, with a head office located in a major city for a selected twenty-year period (disguised by some ostensible activity such as commerce)..." (Time Patrol, p. 13)
The Holy Roman Empire is a milieu and its Patrol headquarters are in Mainz for a twenty year period that includes 1137. The director, Otto Koch, recruited after World War I, is "...a rich merchant..." (The Shield Of Time, p. 313) and addresses Unattached Agent Everard as "'...Herr Freiagent...'" (p. 312).
Through an unglazed upstairs window come:
city noises - rumbling, groaning, creaking, clopping, chattering, whistling, buzzing;
odors - hearths, manure, privies, graveyards;
a view of the cathedral facade and towers.
Koch's cigars and lighter are hidden in a humidor disguised as a saint's image and his ash tray is explained as containing "'...a rare Oriental wood...'" (p. 313), burnt to cover the odors. Everard is explained as an English trader:
"The growth of cities in size, wealth, and power was providing untold commercial opportunities." (p. 314)
Thus, a dynamic period, like 1307 in Harfleur, France:
"...a rookery of merchant adventurers. From harbors like this, a few lifetimes hence, men would set sail for the New World." (Time Patrol, p. 754)
- or 950 BC in Hiram's Tyre:
"...how mightily would it have lived! How rich would be its heritage!" (p. 328)
In such eras, Patrol agents know that they are preserving something worthwhile.
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