A photo from open sources
During the reign in England of the dictator Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658), in his intelligence service, mainly the disclosure of conspiracy against power by the hereditary the king Charles II and his royalist supporters, a mysterious appeared the man in black about whom in the archives of Scotland Yard is still a reliable document is stored.
A photo from open sources
The background of the appearance of a mysterious man in black
Cromwell’s secret intelligence reached its peak during Secretary of State John Thurlo, who managed create the famous Black Room for checking correspondence, thanks to which the dictator knew about the plans of his enemies and what he needed information about the monarchs of Europe. All intercepted mail is talented examined using special machines of the inventor Samuel Morland, able to gently open and also jewelry again seal envelopes, and Oxford professor John Wallis could with easily solve even the most ingenious encryption.
A photo from open sources
However, the work in the Black Room was very intense, since the main key to the success of correspondence perusal was efficiency, so that the enemies of the dictator could not suspect anything, that their letters previously fall into the wrong hands. But this one Efficiency was sometimes not enough, because in the XVII century it was not yet There was no photographic or photocopying equipment.
And then one day a stranger in black came to John Thurlo and said, what does he know about Cromwell’s secret intelligence problems and (for decent fee, of course) could create copies of letters and other documents almost instantly with one condition: no one will ever be ask who he is, and also try to spy, find out in other ways how it works. Secretary of State immediately experienced a stranger, and he really returned a test sheet in a minute, written in illegible handwriting, and an exact copy of it, even with the secret mark in the corner that Turlo made for credibility experiment. At the same time, the stranger had absolutely no no tools, not even a pen and inkwell, with which you could at least try to rewrite the letter. Fiction, and yes only. Moreover, the man in black immediately warned the official, that a copy in a few hours will again become a blank sheet of paper, but this is enough to work with her slowly.
A photo from open sources
The mysterious man worked conscientiously in the Black Room in during the reign of Cromwell and his son, however, in 1660, Charles II Stuart returned the royal power in the country into his own hands. True he suggested Turlo work for him in the same state secret intelligence, appreciating the professionalism of a secretary of state at that level. However, John, who had already become an old man by that time, preferred to retire to rest.
Missing and the man in black. Even when Thurlo said goodbye to him asked him to discover the secret of mysterious copying, a stranger refused to do this, saying that Turlo, despite his whole talent and extensive knowledge, still does not understand anything.
Most likely a time traveler
So this mysterious episode in the history of England would have sunk into oblivion, but in Cromwell’s office, after many years, they started restoration, during which was found a cache with records Turlo, among which turned out to be a story about a man in black with his amazing ability to instantly copy documents. The lion part first found papers went to the library of the University of Oxford, but later a mysterious stranger document came to Scotland Yard and found its refuge on one of the archive shelves of this institutions.
A photo from open sources
Note that at one time, British experts tried to unravel the secret of copying used by the man in black, but all this there were only speculations, and the truth remained a mystery behind the family seals, which it’s possible to unravel, surely, will never succeed. Quite strange in this matter also seems to be why the stranger offered his Cromwell’s secret intelligence services only, and then disappeared without a trace, although such an invention could provide him with a comfortable life and even make rich his heirs.
From today’s perspective, we can assume that it could be far from a talented inventor, as they wanted to present him English experts, and, say, a magician or even a traveler during time that needed to somehow exist in that period. Obviously from a position of the future, he knew that you can only trust John Thurlo, a decent man who holds his word firmly. Working as a copyist under Charles II could threaten for example, some troubles for the story as a whole or serious troubles for the time traveler himself. Or maybe he it was just necessary to return already – that’s the whole mystery. And her we also unlikely to guess when …
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