Here’s Chapter 40 of The Magic Battery. It’s a little Christmas story by itself.
 
 
 
The Christmas guests at Thomas’s house were the mages Lucas Schneider, Jacob Kessler, and their families. The dinner, everyone agreed, was excellent. The fire made the room pleasantly warm. Everyone was in good spirits.

Kessler stood on a chair and raised his cup. “To Thomas Lorenz, for bringing in a new age of magic!” All joined in enthusiastically.

Kessler hopped down and grinned broadly at Thomas. “A new age of magic,” Thomas replied, embarrassed. He had sunk into the safety of a chair after a couple of glasses of wine. “You really think so, Jacob?”

“Of course! What you’re doing changes everything. Till now, magic has been on the edges of life. A mage can help with something now and then, but mostly people find their own way to do things. With what you’ve done, they’ll start using magic for everything.”

“Everything?”

The mage laughed as he waved at the tree, which was decorated with seven magical lights, stars in a green sky. “No Christmas tree ever looked like that before!” He sang slightly flat, “O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, your lights give so much beauty!”

Thomas felt even more embarrassed. “Toys and tricks. There’s so much more still to understand. I’ve devised a few things to make people’s work easier. Nothing more than that.”

“You’ve done nicely from it.” Kessler waved his arm in a semicircle, taking in the furniture, the feast, and the guests enjoying themselves.

“It just takes up so much time.” Thomas lowered his voice confidentially. “It won’t be long before others figure out the technique. People will be able to buy magical devices in any shop.”

“That’s just what I mean by a new age of magic!”

“Maybe it is.” He shrugged. “Magic, sold like cups and saucers. When every mage is doing that, they’ll need as much help as they can get replenishing the devices. You know where they’ll get it?”

Kessler nodded. “They’ll hire women, just as you’ve done.”

“Exactly. And then what’s left of the ban on women using magic?” A smile began to appear on Thomas’s face.

“Be careful,” Kessler said in a joking tone. “You could end up as a heretic, bringing up ideas like that.”

Thomas waved his cup and laughed. “Probably I’m a heretic already. Isn’t a heretic just someone who asks too many questions?”

“Heresy!” Kessler intoned with mock shock.

“But there are a lot of questions I want to ask. What is the World Behind, actually? What happens when we draw power from it? Does it have inhabitants? Are we stealing from them? A teacher of mine asked those questions, and I don’t have answers.”

“Where will you find the answers?”

“I don’t know yet. I started out wanting to learn about magic, and somehow I’ve lost track of that. I want to develop a mathematical theory of how iron and magnets affect magic. Without that, we don’t have a real science. One of these days, maybe not too long from now, I’d like to move from turning out devices to research and teaching. Maybe a position at a university. Other people can make the devices, and I’ll have time to discover what’s really going on.”

“You’d never make as much money in a university. Think about it when you don’t have any wine in you.”

Thomas leaned back in his chair with a relaxed smile. “What’s the point of money, if not to let me do what I want?” He looked around at the guests, who were having a good time. “Speaking of doing what I want, I think it’s time for a surprise.” He went over to a chest and took out a small sack. Then he waved to Frieda, who was talking with the other wives. She let Frau Kessler hold little Hans and came over.

“I know that smile,” she said, taking his hand. “What are you planning?”

“Something you’ll like.” Raising his voice, he said, “Everyone please come outside with me. I have something new to show you.” The guests all ended their conversations and looked at Thomas, who was holding up the mysterious sack.

He led them out the front door into the cold. The sun was getting low in the sky, but it was unobstructed, providing light enough for his needs. Everyone gathered around him in the street. He opened the sack and took out a toy bird, about a foot long, with a blue body, a red head, and shiny silver wings extended horizontally. A ball of string was attached to it. He handed it back to Frieda, saying “This is my gift to you.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “A toy bird?”

He whispered into her ear, and her eyes widened. She stepped away from the crowd, holding the bird in her right hand and the string in her left. She pressed up on the beak and hurled the toy up into the air, crying, “Fly, my bird! Fly!”

It flew. It rose at a steep angle, then went into a rising spiral. Thomas called to her, “Hold the string tight!” She tightened her grip as it went taut. The bird rose so high he could barely see it except when the wings reflected the sunlight.

Schneider poked Thomas in the arm. “I thought you didn’t like doing magic tricks.”

Thomas poked him back. “There’s a time for everything.”

She drew the string in. The bird continued its spirals and dives. A neighbor passing by stopped and stepped back, briefly astonished. He called out, “Oh, of course it would be you! Merry Christmas, Herr and Frau Lorenz!” They returned the greeting.

Frieda handed the ball of string to Thomas, who let it in and out to make the aerobatics more elaborate. After a final swoop of at least thirty feet, he drew it in and pushed the beak down. It was once again an inert toy. Frieda threw her arms around him. “Thank you, Thomas!” she cried.

“You’ve created a device that flies under its own power!” Kessler said with a chuckle. “And you don’t think you’re changing the world.” Thomas wasn’t paying attention to him.